


give me a boost over heaven's gate

by scntuary



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Amputee!Catra, Blood and Gore, F/F, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Scorptra mentions, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26715418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scntuary/pseuds/scntuary
Summary: Adora didn’t believe in much, generally speaking, when it came to the universe. She didn’t believe in fate, she didn’t believe in luck, and she didn’t care to try to find something to believe in. She didn’t believe in any god, because what kind of god would let innocent people die like this? Not one she wanted to believe in. She was more focused on living in the moment, doing what felt right at whatever time. Despite that, though, she, maybe, could’ve considered herself lucky. The world had ended abruptly and violently around halfway through her senior year of high school. Yet there she was, sitting around a fire with her closest friends from school.The people who died were the lucky ones. They had it easy. They didn’t have to experience what came after. Their bodies burst open, guts and bits of flesh littering the streets. Sometimes, Adora wished that she had their fate instead. It would be a hell of a lot easier, she thought. But there was no way to know whether or not she, if infected, would simply burst from the disease, or… worse. And while she didn’t believe in much, she was more than ready to pray to whatever higher power would make it so she wouldn’t become worse from the disease.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 96





	1. one look from you

**Author's Note:**

> hey hens! this idea came to me in the shower one morning and has since rotted my brain (irony intended. get it? it's a zombie apocalypse au? teehee i'm so funny)  
> it's kinda inspired by the netflix show Daybreak  
> fic name and chapter titles are from Heaven's Gate by Fall Out Boy. because i'm emo as shit apparently  
> the tags are kinda dry rn but i promise i'll update them as needed  
> just know there's like a lot of violence and gore. because, as i've said, it is a zombie apocalypse au  
> also i did not edit this bc i'm not a coward. i will die like a man  
> anywhom i hope you enjoy my luvlies xx

Adora didn’t believe in much, generally speaking, when it came to the universe. She didn’t believe in fate, she didn’t believe in luck, and she didn’t care to try to find something to believe in. She didn’t believe in any god, because what kind of god would let innocent people die like this? Not one she wanted to believe in. She was more focused on living in the moment, doing what felt right at whatever time. Despite that, though, she, maybe, could’ve considered herself lucky. The world had ended abruptly and violently around halfway through her senior year of high school. In the middle of the school day, mind you. Yet there she was, sitting around a fire with her closest friends from school.

Honestly, they should’ve seen it coming. In late December when word had gotten out about some incredibly infectious and terribly deadly virus, everyone thought it would die away quickly. And maybe it would’ve, if politicians and government officials had actually listened to scientists who were all but screaming, “If we don’t take action, the entire world population will die out.” Well, seeing as around nine months later Adora hadn’t seen anyone outside of her own group that was still alive, that clearly hadn’t been the case.

The people who died were the lucky ones. They had it easy. They didn’t have to experience what came after. Their bodies burst open, guts and bits of flesh littering the streets. Sometimes, Adora wished that she had their fate instead. It would be a hell of a lot easier, she thought. But there was no way to know whether or not she, if infected, would simply burst from the disease, or… worse. And while she didn’t believe in much, she was more than ready to pray to whatever higher power would make it so she wouldn’t become worse from the disease.

“So,” Lonnie said, poking at the fire with a long stick, effectively forcing Adora out of her thoughts. “If this wasn’t how the world was, what would you guys be doing right now?”

Catra scoffed at the question. “Seriously?” she asked.

“Yeah, seriously.” A second of silence passed. “I’d be packing for boot camp,” she said, trying to keep the conversation alive.

“Wow, the only one here who took JROTC seriously,” Catra joked.

“My parents would make me work at their shop.” Kyle’s voice broke as he spoke. Adora thought he would someday grow out of his whiny voice, but he never did. “They run a, or- I guess it’s ran now, uh… An auto parts store.”

“Then why did you never know what was wrong with your car?” Lonnie jested, nudging his arm.

“Because they’re not mechanics,” he said defensively. “Or, they  _ were  _ not…” he trailed off. A heavy silence grew over the group again. Adora wasn’t sure if her moms were still alive or not, and somehow that gave her hope. Kyle didn’t have that luxury. He… He had it rough. Rogelio put his arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, letting him rest his head on his shoulder.

“I think I’d work at that animal shelter. You know, the one down the street from school,” Catra said as she broke the silence, her voice delicate and gentle, almost reassuring.

“You’d be good at that,” Adora chuckled. “It’d be cute to see you with kittens, bonding with them or whatever.” Catra buried her face in her arms to hide her blush.

“Thanks,” she mumbled through a smile. “What about you?”

She paused, thinking for a second before responding. “I’d go back to school. I already got my acceptance letter from BMU when all this went down, so I’d probably just… Do that.”

“What were you gonna major in?” Kyle quietly asked, his voice still shaky.

“History, with a minor in deaf studies.”

“Awful ambitious, princess,” Catra joked. “Why deaf studies? I thought you already nailed sign language?”

“I thought it’d be something that I could slap on a resume to give any job applications a bump.”

“That’s… actually really smart,” Lonnie said, nodding her head slightly.

“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t matter much anymore-”

The sound of a car alarm blaring cut her off. She couldn’t tell exactly how far away it was, or if it was caused by a human or otherwise, but it wasn’t a risk that they could take.

“Cut the fire,” Adora whispered at Lonnie, who was already grabbing the water bucket. “Get back inside, now!” She held the door to the rundown shop open while the others filed inside, and set the large bookcase in front of the door, blocking it. She peeked through the wooden slats covering the window, looking for any movement.

“Anything?” Catra whispered, her voice barely audible. Adora held up her hand, watching. A second later, her hand formed a fist. “How many?”

“I see two. They’re maybe a hundred feet out.”

“Should we take them out?” Lonnie asked.

“We could… I don’t know, what do you think, Catra?”

“There’s only the two of them, right? Nothing else around?”

“Just them.”

Catra grinned and held up her softball bat.

“Let’s take them.”

xx

Lonnie and Catra crept outside, with Adora trailing behind them as watch. They crouched behind a car, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

As soon as the zombies got within ten feet of them, they leapt over the car, and Adora scanned the streets, watching for any more. She nodded at Catra, signalling they were clear.

A loud crack echoed through the empty streets as Catra’s bat struck one of the zombies, breaking its skull open. The other one turned to her but was quickly taken down by Lonnie jamming the metal shovel she carried through the back of its neck, its head falling to the ground.

The two hurried back to Adora, who ushered them inside.

“Ugh,” Catra said once the door was barricaded again. “Where did we throw the paper towels? I’m covered in blood since  _ someone _ decided that decapitating a zombie sounds fun.”

“Well, I took it down, didn’t I?” Lonnie said, rolling her eyes at Catra. “Y’all are on watch tonight, right? We need to make sure that nothing else gets close to the shop.”

“Yeah, me and Adora,” Catra said as she discarded a paper towel, completely covered in dark red.

“Well, since y’all got that, I’m going to sleep,” Lonnie said with a laugh, laying down on her sleeping mat tucked away behind the counter. The shop was a little bakery and coffee shop called Fright Zone Coffee that the group would frequent on weekends to get breakfast back when… Well, when that was possible. They had set up their sleeping mats behind the counter to give them some barrier between their beds and the door in case of, in the best case scenario, looters.

“We should, uh, head up now,” Adora stuttered, gesturing towards the roof access ladder. Catra raised an eyebrow at her before climbing the ladder onto the roof.

xx

It was a cool night considering it was August, and Adora welcomed the slight chill. She was just thankful they weren’t in a heat wave. The street lights were still on, which was surprising to her when the world first went to shit. The road beneath them was overgrown, with red stains in some places that had been there for as long as they had. The car alarm had stopped blaring; the only sounds that filled the once busy stretch of shops was crickets and the occasional owl.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Catra said, staring up at the sky. She was laying down on her back, her arms crossed behind her head.

“Yeah, it is,” Adora replied breathlessly, sitting down.

“Adora…” she trailed off. “Have you ever thought about how things would be if the world wasn’t… ya know...”

“In shambles?”

“Yeah.”

“I have, actually.” She took a deep breath and let out a small laugh. “Do you remember senior year?”

“Uh, we were barely even at school,” Catra laughed. “The day you got a car was the day we only went to like… A single class.”

“I think it’d be like that.” Catra sat up. “Like, I could pick you up from work and we could drive around and get coffee, go to the skate park, the things we used to do while skipping class.”

“I’d like that,” she quietly said after a beat.

Catra must have noticed Adora shiver slightly, and took off her jacket, a maroon Horde High track jacket, silently offering it to her. Adora quietly thanked her, wrapping herself in it.

After a second of silence, Catra laughed to herself. “What?” Adora asked.

“Nothing, nothing…” She smiled. “Do you remember sophomore year biology with Ms. Weaver?”

“God, how could I forget?” Adora laughed. “She had it out for you from day one.”

“I just remembered when she put me with Rogelio for a presentation and got mad at us because I was the only one talking. She really went seven months without realizing that Rogelio doesn’t talk!”

“How can you go so long and not realize that a student is mute?”

“Oh, do you-” Catra cut herself off by laughing. “Do you remember when we came back late from skipping lunch senior year and Mrs. Octavia let us off the hook because we offered her some fries?”

“I can’t believe she let us get away with that,” Adora laughed. “We were almost a half hour late!”

“I can’t believe how fast you drove trying to get back. I also can’t really believe that you didn’t expect the Chick-Fil-A drive thru line to be  _ that _ long. Like, of course it was! It’s Chick-Fil-A!”

“That’s what we get for consuming homophobic chicken, I guess,” she said with a chuckle. “Serves us right.”

Catra only hummed in response. The two sat leaning against each other, staring at the stars against the city skyline. If it wasn’t so off-putting, it would be beautiful.  _ But of course it wasn’t. Nothing could be beautiful these days, _ Adora thought to herself. Still, she allowed herself to take in the scenery. The silence of the night, the gentle glow of the stars and of the moon; despite the world being in shambles, it was soothing.

“Hey, Catra?” Adora said, breaking the comfortable silence they had fallen into.

Catra only hummed in acknowledgement of her question.

“Do you remember that, uh… that poem you used to love? The one about the zombie apocalypse?”

“Of course.  _ To Live in the Zombie Apocalypse _ by Burlee Vang. Why, do you wanna hear it?” Adora quietly nodded. Catra reached into her bag, shuffling through the items she carried with her, before pulling out her small leather-bound notebook. She flipped through a few pages, her eyes quickly scanning the pages, before she stopped and cleared her throat.

“ _ The moon will shine for God _

_ knows how long. _

_ As if it still matters. As if someone _

_ is trying to recall a dream. _

_ Believe the brain is a cage of light _

_ & rage. When it shuts off, _

something else  _ switches on. _

_ There’s no better reason than now _

_ to lock the doors, the windows. _

_ Turn off the sprinklers _

_ & porch light. Save the books _

_ for fire. In darkness, _

_ we learn to read _

_ what moves along the horizon, _

_ across the periphery of a gun scope _ —

_ the flicker of shadows, _

_ the rustling of trash in the body _

_ of cities long emptied. _

_ Not a soul lives _

_ in this house & _

_ this house & this _

_ house. Go on, stiffen _

_ the heart, quicken _

_ the blood. To live _

_ in a world of flesh _

_ & teeth, you must _

_ learn to kill _

_ what you love, _

_ & love what can die. _ ”

Adora sat quietly for a moment, eyes closed, letting the words of the poem she had heard Catra recite so many times in high school flow over her. It was ironic, maybe, that the poem that made her fall in love with Catra’s voice would become their reality. She chuckled to herself at that realization.

“What’s so funny there, princess?” Catra asked.

“Nothing, nothing, it’s just… the irony is golden, don’t you think?”

“How so?”

“That was one of your favorite poems in high school-”

“To be fair, I did have a long list of favorite poems,” Catra interjected. Adora rolled her eyes before continuing.

“It’s our reality now.” Catra was silent for a second, contemplating. She bit lightly on the inside of her cheek.

“I hope not,” she said quietly after a second.

“I hoped not too, but we  _ are _ living in a zombie apocalypse-”

“No, not that,” she said, cutting her off. “ _ Learn to kill what you love _ ,” she repeated from the poem. “I don’t want to do that.”

“I don’t either.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “But I don’t think we have to, ya know? I think that… as long as we stick together, nothing really bad will happen to us, right?”

Catra wrapped an arm around Adora’s shoulders, bringing her close. “Of course not, princess,” she whispered, her voice holding a softness and delicacy that she hadn’t heard since… Honestly, she couldn’t remember the last time she had heard Catra’s voice sound like that. So calming, so peaceful.

They sat together in silence for a while, Catra’s arms wrapped around Adora, Adora’s fingers gently tracing patterns along Catra’s waist. It was comfortable, the way they sat there waiting for anything to disturb them. And it seemed like nothing would.

xx

The sun was just beginning to rise when Adora’s eyes opened, adjusting to the light around them. She glanced down at Catra, leaned against her chest. She ran her fingers through her wild brown hair, her chest feeling light at the memories that came flooding back. Catra sighed and opened her eyes.

“Mm, good morning,” she said, her voice husky from sleep.

“We probably shouldn’t have fallen asleep,” Adora mumbled.

“We definitely shouldn't have.” Catra stretched and stood up, taking in the brisk morning air. “But as long as nothing hap- oh, fuck.”

Adora followed Catra’s eyes to the street heading south. At first, she couldn’t quite make out what it was. Then it clicked in her head that it was a man. Then she noticed that the man’s jaw was only attached on one side, and that he was missing an eye and a considerable portion of his skull. Then she noticed that there were others in the street with him. Many others. Too many others.

“Oh, fuck,” Adora echoed quietly. “If we hurry, can we make it to the truck?”

“The truck’s out of gas, I haven’t had time to get more gas, holy shit holy  _ fuck _ we’re gonna die, Adora.” Tears welled in her eyes as she popped open the hatch leading back into the shop, sliding down and shouting something Adora couldn’t quite hear.

Adora was frozen. She wanted so desperately for her legs to move, to go get the others and try to escape before they were overwhelmed and killed. Or worse. But she couldn’t. All she could do was stare at the horde moving towards them. All she could do was imagine what would happen if they reached the shop.

“Adora! Come on!” Lonnie shouted, her head peering out from the hatch. Adora could hardly breathe. She felt Lonnie’s hand around her wrist, pulling her back inside and towards the door. She grabbed her pack and ran out into the street.

The horde was close enough that she could smell the distinct odor of rotting flesh and old blood. She was shook from her thoughts the second she began to follow her friends in a sprint, unsure of where they were going but anything was better than where they were. They turned down a street, then another, then another. The smell was almost unbearable, and if she wasn’t running for her life, Adora would’ve thrown up.

The next street they turned down, they saw them. Dozens of people in varying states of deterioration and decay had cornered them.

“Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck _ ,” Catra panted with wide eyes.

There was nowhere to run. It felt like it would be the end.

Through the animalistic growls, Adora heard something. She froze, listening. “Is that a truck?” she asked to no one in particular.

Her question was answered as a large white pickup truck plowed through the mass that had cut them off. A boy was sitting in the bed of the truck, fighting off any that got to close. He tried to get their attention.

“Come with us if you want to live!” he shouted. Adora grabbed Catra’s arm and started to pull their group towards the truck. She batted away anything that got too close. She wasn’t thinking, was barely even perceiving the world around her. All she knew was get to that truck by any means necessary.

Kyle’s screams echoed throughout the alleyway, snapping Adora’s attention away from the truck. He had gone down, and Rogelio was next to him, trying to pull him free.

“We have to leave him!” Catra desperately called out with tears streaming down her face. Almost as soon as she spoke, she saw a mouth latch onto Rogelio’s neck, piercing the skin. Lonnie gasped before she allowed herself to be pulled along by Catra and Adora.

The trio broke into a full on sprint towards the truck, narrowly dodging the decaying fingers of the monsters trying to grab them. Adora reached the truck first, hoisted in by the boy sitting in the bed.

As she slid her leg over the side, she heard Lonnie scream and turned to see Catra trying to get zombies off of her. But there were too many. Catra had to leave her.

Adora reached her arms down, grabbing Catra’s and beginning to pull her in.

But there were other hands. Too many other hands, grabbing at Catra’s legs, pulling her back down. She wasn’t strong enough. The driver started to move the truck, trying to shake the zombies off, but it didn’t work.

Catra’s arms slipped, Adora being unable to hold on with sweaty hands. Her fingertips grazed Catra’s as she fell.

“Catra!” Adora called out as she was ripped from her arms.

“Adora!” she screamed.

“Stop the truck!” she yelled at the driver. But the girl didn’t stop. “Stop the truck!” she screamed again, her voice breaking.

They left Catra.

_ She  _ left Catra.

She stared at the mass of bodies blurring into one as they drove away. Her chest felt cold and heavy, and the lump in her throat threatened to suffocate her. She wanted nothing more than to scream, to cry, to do something, but she couldn’t move.

The one person she promised to protect and stay beside until the end. Gone.

Her best friends for as long as she could remember. Killed in front of her.  _ Taken _ from her.

She could faintly hear distant echoes of the voice of the boy who pulled her into the truck, but she couldn’t process it. It was just background noise, millions of miles away, echoing through the cold universe. It didn’t even matter to her. The only thing that did was… 

“Hey,” he quietly said, his hand placed on her shoulder. As soon as she felt his hand, waves of pain washed over here, streaming through her entire body. She choked out a sob and collapsed into his arms, tears coursing down her face.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around her.

“Everything is going to be okay.”


	2. i'm on that faded love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok you will not get updates in the same day ever again. this is just because i had already written about half of this chapter when i finished the first one, so it was no problem for me to take the rest of the day to finish this chapter. that doesn't make sense i don't think but you get my point.  
> also that last chapter's cliffhanger was kinda disrespectful, and i'm the one who fucking wrote it lmao  
> updates will probably come out weekly? maybe? unless uni gets hectic, which if i'm being honest, i know it's going to
> 
> uh follow me on twitter @/scntuary i'm real active on there  
> enjoy hens xx

The truck slowed to a stop as the afternoon sun was beating down. Adora wasn’t sure where they were, or if they were even in the same city. She vaguely remembered passing buildings but… She couldn’t be sure of anything.

Not anymore.

She had stopped crying a little while ago. Or maybe it was just a second ago. Time felt… fuzzy. Her eyes still burned and her throat felt raw and her breathing still hitched every time she took a breath.

The boy that was in the truck bed and tried to comfort her for a while. After a bit he had moved away, opening the back window to talk to the driver. They talked in hushed whispers, making it so she could barely hear them. She didn’t care. They could keep their secrets.

When the truck stopped, Adora assumed they would try to talk to her, try to figure her out. They didn’t. They kept whispering to each other through the back window. The boy kept glancing back over at her every now and again, but didn’t talk to her directly. For a minute it sounded like they were arguing, but again, she couldn’t care less. They could kill her at that moment, and honestly? She was pretty sure she’d thank them for it.

The whispering stopped. That normally would’ve put her on edge, but. Nope. Nothing. She couldn’t bring herself to put her guard up, to get ready to run far away. It didn’t matter what they did to her.

“Hey,” the boy said softly, placing a hand gently on her shoulder to get her attention. “Are you okay to walk?” She turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow before nodding without a word. He helped her over the bed of the truck, holding strong arms out steady in case her balance faltered. Which it did for a second. She didn’t realize how weak she felt. Sobbing your eyes out really did that to a girl, she supposed.

The door of the truck opened, and a short girl with sparkly pink hair slid out. She closed the door softly, not bothering to lock the doors. She didn’t say anything to Adora; she shot the boy a look before starting down the dirt road that was right in front of them.

“Sorry about her,” the boy said, gesturing for her to follow. “She’s not exactly, uh… happy that we picked you up.”

“We can’t just trust every stranger we stumble upon, Bow!” the girl said without turning to face him.

“Well I refuse to let innocent people die,” he retorted.

“We don’t know if she’s innocent!”

He ran forward and grabbed the girl by the arm, stopping her. He whispered something to her before shooting a sympathetic look back to Adora. The girl rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

“She’ll get over it, don’t worry,” he said to Adora. After a second of silence, he held out his hand. “My name’s Bow.” She glanced at his hand before shaking it.

“Adora,” she choked out, her voice raw. She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound less like she’d been crying and screaming her lungs out. Oh wait. She had been. “Where are we going?”

“Glimmer’s parents have a bunker outside of town. They were big on the whole survivalist deal, so their bunker is like decked out or whatever. We’ve been staying there, but we’ve been coming back into town on supply runs. We ran out of medicine early on.” He stared at the ground, eyebrows furrowing. “That’s… why Glimmer isn’t happy we picked you up. We’ve been robbed before, by survivors we tried to help.”

Adora stopped in her tracks. “I can leave, if-”

“No, no,” he cut her off. “We saw what happened to you, what you’ve been through today. I… I know what it’s like to lose people like that.” Adora met his eyes, watching as tears welled in them. “They got my dads.” She put a hand on his shoulder, offering him the same comfort she offered to her earlier.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” He sniffled and wiped the tears away from his eyes.

“I’m kinda glad that they went the way they did, instead of becoming a walker.”

“A what?” she asked with a light laugh.

“A walker.” Upon seeing the clear look of confusion on her face, he elaborated. “You’ve seen the Walking Dead, right?” She shook her head. “Oh. That’s what they call them in that. Me and Glimmer used to watch it all the time.”

“Bow, can you  _ please _ not share our life story with a stranger?” the girl Adora assumed was Glimmer said as she turned around. “We’re almost there.”

“Me and Catra call them hordes,” Adora said. She froze, slapping a hand over her mouth once she realized what she had said.  _ Catra…  _ She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, and genuinely wondered how the hell she could still have tears left to cry.

“Hey, hey,” Bow said, trying to meet her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Adora nodded silently, wiping the tears from her eyes. “We’ve all lost people that we care about, you know? I don’t think there’s a single person in this world left who doesn’t understand what you’re going through right now. You’re allowed to feel the pain of losing someone.” Adora stared into his eyes, his words washing over her like a tidal wave across a rocky shoreline. “It’s gonna suck, but you have to remember to let yourself feel. Let it out; let your feelings be free, and let them disperse into the universe. It’s the only way to let yourself heal.” She nodded silently before the two caught up to Glimmer.

Glimmer was already at their destination, working on opening the lock to the tall wooden fence. Once it was open, Adora could see a small wooden cabin. Around the cabin were various plants, some she recognized and some she didn’t.

“This is the bunker?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. They made it seem so… impenetrable. So perfect. But this old run-down cabin, how could it possibly keep anything out?

“Sort of,” Bow answered, walking up to the cabin and unlocking the large front door.

The inside was just as musty as she had expected, with dust covering most surfaces. There was a gorgeous stone fireplace in the middle of the living room, with pictures placed atop the mantle. Adora picked up one of the pictures and smiled. It looked like Glimmer, when she was maybe six years old at the oldest, with two people she assumed to be her parents. They were at the beach, and they all looked  _ so _ happy. She couldn’t help but wonder if her parents were still alive, or what happened to them, but she knew she couldn’t bring that up. If it was relevant, Glimmer would mention it to her. Or not.  _ Why would Glimmer trust me? She doesn’t even know me, _ she thought to herself as she set the picture back down.

“The actual bunker,” Bow said, suddenly appearing next to her, “is down here.” He reached into the fireplace, moving his hand up the chimney before pulling a small lever down. He then grabbed the grate at the bottom of the fireplace and pulled it up, revealing a ladder leading down into the darkness. He grabbed onto the ladder and began to climb down. “Follow me,” he said as he descended into the darkness.

Adora glanced back over to Glimmer, who was barricading the front door of the cabin. “After you,” Glimmer said after making sure the door was secure. Adora began to climb down after Bow, watching Glimmer follow shortly after. Glimmer pulled the grate back across and secured the latch.

Adora stepped off the ladder and looked into the large room. There were four bunks, two stacked atop another two, in the corner. She wondered why Glimmer’s parents would have four bunks, but again, felt not close enough to Glimmer to ask about it. One of the walls was entirely covered by shelves, with more cans than Adora thought she’d ever seen in her entire life. She looked at a few of them: canned black beans, canned potatoes, canned soups, canned vegetables. They really were decked out. Along another wall was a single door, opened halfway. She took a glance in, noting that it was a bathroom with two stalls and two shower stalls. Along the wall adjacent to the wall of shelves was a small kitchen, complete with fridge and oven. There was a vent hood over the oven with tubes connecting to it, running across the ceiling towards the ladder. In the kitchen area was a table with four chairs that looked surprisingly comfortable.

“Welcome to paradise!” Bow announced, collapsing on one of the bottom bunks.

“It’s nice,” Adora said quietly, looking around.

“Dinner’s usually around 5:30, or whenever I get around to cooking it. Never let Glimmer cook, by the way.” Glimmer feigned hurt before throwing a pillow at him.

“Me and Bow have these bunks,” Glimmer said, gesturing to the bunk Bow was sitting on as well as the one positioned above it. “You can choose either of those two, it doesn’t matter.” Adora nodded in lieu of saying thanks, and went to put her bag on the bottom bunk. “So, Horde High?”

She froze, remembering the jacket she was given the night before, that she hadn’t taken off. Catra’s jacket.

“Y-Yeah,” she said after a second. She swallowed hard before taking a deep breath and turning to face Glimmer. “Yeah, I went there.”

“We both went to Bright Moon.”

“Rivalry!” Bow cheered, smiling widely. “Were you on the track team?”

“Um…” Adora trailed off. “No. But C-” She couldn’t even finish the name, breaking down for what had to be the fifth time that day. She fell to her knees, head in her hands. She couldn’t believe her body could keep doing this, but she was just full of surprises.

Glimmer crouched down next to her, meeting her eyes. “Would it help at all to talk about her? Or the others you lost today? Sometimes it helps to hold a memorial-type thing,” she offered quietly. “Bow told me to do that when… when the walkers got my mom.”

Adora wordlessly stared back up at Glimmer, who was offering her a small smile. “I th-think that would help,” she stuttered through sobs.

“I’ll grab you some paper if you want to try writing anything down, help get your thoughts out.” She disappeared, rooting through a cabinet and coming back a minute later with a stack of papers and a blue colored pencil. “We somehow don’t have any pens or pencils besides this, I hope it’ll do.”

Adora took a while to figure out what to say. Some things came very easily, like talking about how, as much as they all made fun of Kyle, he really was a great friend, or how Lonnie was one of the most reliable, headstrong, and grounded people she had ever met. Some things wouldn’t come to her at all, especially when it came to writing absolutely anything about Catra. Eventually, though, she got all of her thoughts jotted down. Just in time for dinner.

Dinner wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was the first hot meal she’d had in months. Bow cooked her a bowl of soup, chicken noodle to be specific but it wasn’t like Adora was tasting it anyway. She was just excited to have something that wasn’t either a protein bar, some mostly stale bread, or a package of dried fruit. She practically inhaled it, setting her bowl down on the table with a sigh.

“That was delicious,” Adora said, chuckling.

“How would you know? I don’t even think you tasted it!” Glimmer said with a laugh, only halfway through her bowl of soup.

“Leave her alone, Glimmer,” Bow said before taking a sip of the soup. “She probably hasn’t eaten in a while.”

That made Adora think. It  _ had _ been a while since she’d eaten. She didn’t eat that morning because of how quickly everything changed. She didn’t eat lunch that afternoon because she just… couldn’t. So it had definitely been at least twenty four hours since she’d eaten anything. She didn’t want to say anything back to them. She was worried they’d take pity on her. Well, more pity than they already did.

“Do you want to read your eulogies?” Glimmer softly asked as she finished her soup. Adora took a deep shaky breath before nodding. Bow set the bowls in a sink and took out a handful of candles. He placed the candles in an arrangement on top of the table, a lighter in hand. He nodded to Adora, signalling to her that he was ready.

She cleared her throat before speaking. “Kyle, I remember when I first met you in middle school, and you were just… _so_ scrawny. At eleven years old, you were maybe four feet tall? Maybe? And, god, we picked on you so much that entire time. Rogelio always had your back. And when you hit high school, you were _still_ _so_ scrawny. I couldn’t believe it when you went into JROTC with us. But… that’s just who you were. You were Kyle, so loyal, willing to do whatever as long as you could make your friends happy. I miss you, Kyle. Rest easy.

Rogelio, I know you had it rough in high school. I know you tried to not let it get to you, but… I know it did. You were so strong to live through the things that you had. You were the reason why I wanted to learn sign language; in what world should someone go around unable to communicate with almost anybody? You made me want to become better. Even beyond the sign language thing, you made me want to become better any way I could. You cared so deeply for everyone you got close to. You really were the gentle giant. I miss you, Rogelio. Rest easy.

Lonnie, when I first met you, we somehow were enemies. I don’t even remember why! We just somehow agreed that we hated each other, but then when Rogelio made us get along, we became such amazing friends that… that I don’t even know how it happened. You were so reliable, so headstrong, so solid. Like a rock. You were my rock, Lonnie. And you always knew exactly what to do, no matter what. You were always there for me, always protecting me. You were never afraid to call me out on my bullshit. I mean, I don’t think you were afraid of anything, period. I miss you, Lonnie. Rest easy.

Catra. Fucking hell, where do I even start with you? We… we were everything. Really, we were. With you, I felt the highest of highs, the lowest of lows. You were my best friend, my closest confidante, the person I would’ve taken with me to the end of the world. And I did. I promised that nothing bad would happen as long as we stuck together. I’m so sorry, Catra. I promised to protect you, I promised to- to be with you, to be by your side. You meant everything to me. I… love you, Catra. I think I always have, and- and now that you’re gone, I… I don’t even know what to do anymore. I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself, like there’s a hole in my chest that only you could ever fill. And Catra, I promise you, I don’t care if I have to go through every horde that crosses my path, I don’t care if I have to burn the whole fucking world down. I’ll make sure your life mattered. Because it did. So much. To me. I love you, Catra. So fucking much. I’ll be waiting for you until we meet again.”

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes but, somehow, they didn’t fall. Maybe she  _ had _ cried until there was nothing left after all. The grief, the rage, all that she had previously felt earlier that day had melted into nothingness. And that’s all she felt: nothingness. Emptiness. Numbness. Her chest still held the heaviness of that morning, but there was no emotion flowing through her, no adrenaline keeping her heart rate up. She was left with the reality of the situation: she was alone. Everything she knew and loved was taken from her. She had no home, no friends, no family. The one lesson she learned early in life is that life is cruel. The universe doesn’t have favorites, and no god cares what you do. We all suffer. We all will suffer. Life doesn’t have happy endings, Adora knew that. Some part of her craved one anyway, as if to say, “fuck you,” to the universe, to say, “I deserve good things,” to whatever high powers may exist. She knew she didn’t deserve it, though. Why would she deserve it if Catra didn’t, if Lonnie didn’t, if her moms didn’t? It wasn’t fair. She knew it wasn’t fair. All she wanted was to cry some more, to scream at the universe to bring her life back to her. But she couldn’t. All she could do is sit there as the nothingness consumed her, as the numbness in her chest worked its way throughout her entire body.

She didn’t even remember Glimmer and Bow taking her frozen body into bed, and tucking her in.

xx

Her body didn’t force her awake that morning like it usually did. She was able to stretch, roll over, try to make herself comfortable. Her body was spent. The energy that she usually had too much of had vanished without a trace. She slowly peeled her eyes open. She had almost forgotten about the cold, metallic bunker she had been brought to. Almost was the key word there.

The images of her friends going down flashed in front of her eyes again. The sounds of them screaming, the animalistic grunts of the hordes that consumed them, that final scream from Catra before the silence, all vividly replayed themselves in her mind. And still she did not have the energy to cry. Still her chest felt numb and cold, and her limbs felt stiff and lifeless. But still she forced herself out of that bed.

She took a glance at the clock hung upon the wall. She was asleep for almost twelve hours, which somehow didn’t surprise her. It would however make it the most sleep she’d gotten in her lifetime. She really didn’t care about how much she slept, though. That was one thing she knew she deserved. To say the day before had been a bit of a lot would be the understatement of the fucking millenium.

“Good morning,” Bow said, chipper as he had been the day before.

Adora grunted in return.

“Would you like some coffee?” he asked, holding up a mug.

“Yes. Please.” She slid into the chair across from Bow as he stood to get another cup out of the coffee pot.

“It’s not as good as you could’ve gotten before the world ended, but hey, it’s coffee.” He set the mug down in front of her. She took a sip and sighed contentedly. She felt warmth again inside, and maybe that was a good sign. If she couldn’t get through her emotions like a normal person, coffee will always act as a mental bandaid. That was how Catra handled everything, at least: copious amounts of coffee. Probably weed too, while Adora was thinking about it.

Glimmer emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, looking as though a cloud of steam from the shower was hanging around her. She ran a towel through her damp hair before hanging it on the hook next to her bed.

“So, Adora, now that you’re awake,” she said, sitting down, “we have to go back into town today. We didn’t get the supplies we needed because of all the walkers-”

“I still think that name is ridiculous-”

“SO,” she almost shouted, trying to keep Adora out of her sentence, “we have to try again today. And I totally understand if you don’t want to come; yesterday was probably really traumatic for you, and I get-”

“No, I’ll go,” Adora said. “But, and I hate to ask this, can I…” She sighed, trailing off. “Catra, the girl who… got left behind, yesterday. She was my best friend. And it would mean the world to me if I could run back to a shop we used to live in. I need to get her belongings, the things I know she didn’t have time to grab when we abandoned it. I need  _ something _ of hers to be able to bring with me, to put her mark everywhere, to say ‘Catra was here.’ So the memory of her lives on.” She hated to impose, hated to feel like a burden, but she knew she had to do this.

Glimmer exchanged a glance with Bow. Adora thought it was really impressive but also kind of horrifying, the way those two could have a conversation without saying a single word.

“How far exactly is that shop from where we picked you up yesterday?” Bow asked tentatively.

“Maybe five minutes, give or take.”

“Okay. We’ll go. But we’re getting the supplies first in case anything goes south.” Bow met her eyes, a knowing look across his face. “I know Catra must’ve been so close to you, and I know how that hurts. But we can’t afford too many unnecessary risks. We’re going now to help you heal, but…”

“I get it. Thank you so much for even considering it.”

xx

Getting the supplies went suspiciously well. The hordes that had all but overrun the streets the day before were few and far between. They were able to make a quick run into a CVS which, thankfully, wasn’t fully looted. They stuffed gauze, antiseptic, and whatever else seemed important into their backpacks, and just like that, they began to walk down the road towards the shop.

Being in front of that shop again made Adora nervous. She wasn’t even sure why. It had felt so comfortable to her before, even before the world fell apart. It was like a home away from home for her, and for Catra and the others. She took a deep breath before stepping forwards.

She pushed open the glass door slowly, listening inside the shop for any signs of movement. Nothing. She continued forward, hands firmly gripping the handle of her softball bat. If nothing else came out of her high school experience, which she was almost certain nothing would these days, her three years as captain of the varsity softball team would come in handy. She didn’t talk much about it, because it wasn’t like her to brag, but she hit the most homeruns in the school’s history. So maybe she was a little better than the average survivor at breaking skulls.

She let out a deep sigh. Catra… What she would give to redo the last week. The things she would do differently if she just had the chance. The things she would’ve said if only she was able. Her cheeks dampened and she rubbed a tear away with the back of her wrist. She didn’t care if she would have to take down every zombie she came across for the next fifty years; she would have vengeance. For Catra.

Wait… Catra?

Her eyes locked on the back wall of the shop. It had an image spray painted with red paint, an image that certainly wasn’t there a day ago, an image that Adora could recognize anywhere. It was a self-portrait, with an arrow pointing downwards.

A self-portrait.

Of Catra.

The same hurried self-portrait that she would always doodle on her papers when she was bored in class. The same self-portrait she had spraypainted on the sides of whatever buildings she could find, just to say, “Catra was here.” It had become an identifying mark for her. Catra was here, Catra was…  _ alive. _

Adora leapt over the counter, powered only by hope and adrenaline, tears gathering in her eyes. She followed the arrow downwards to a small piece of paper, neatly folded up. She gasped as she read the words written quickly in handwriting that was so familiar to her.

“Adora?” Glimmer whispered from behind her. “What is it?”

“Catra’s alive. And I know where she is.”


	3. out of my body

Adora couldn’t believe it. Her mind almost outright refused to believe it. She watched Catra go down. She heard her screams echo through the streets, fading away into nothingness. She… 

So how was Catra even alive? The note didn’t say. The note didn’t say much of anything. If it was anyone besides Adora reading it, it would make absolutely no sense.

But Adora and Catra had been together for a while. They were able to drop hints for the other, little secret messages that they could leave without anyone else finding out. And that was how Adora knew she was alive.

“What do you mean Catra’s alive?” Glimmer asked, trying to get closer. “Where is she? What’s the note say? How is she even alive?”

“I don’t know how, it doesn’t make sense!” Adora said, though it was closer to a shout. She didn’t mean to be so loud, but she simply couldn’t help it. Catra was  _ alive _ and she was going to find her. “Look, her stuff’s gone too!” she said as she pointed to the spot behind the counter where they used to keep her belongings. Adora’s duffel bag sat resting against the counter, just as she had left it the day before. It looked untouched, despite the fact that Catra’s, which was supposed to be next to hers, was missing.

“Adora. Read the note,” Bow reminded her.

“Right, right, okay,” she said, fumbling with the paper for a second. “ _ Hey, Adora. When you can, find me where we hid. _ ”

“Riiiiight, and what does that mean?” Glimmer asked, raising an eyebrow.

“So when we were in high school, Catra… Her mom really wasn’t great. I don’t really wanna get into it, but whenever she needed me, I’d drive to her house and wait around the corner for her to sneak out, and we always would go to the same place. Her mom eventually found out she was sneaking out, but we never told anybody else where we went.” She took a shaky breath, shuddering at the memory of Catra’s mom. “It’s this, uh, place not too far from her house. It was a little ice cream place, but the owner -- she really was a sweet woman, Razz -- she would let us hide out in the back room. That’s… where I think Catra is.”

“Adora…” Bow started, trailing off.

“No, I get it.” Adora closed her eyes. “I can’t ask you guys to come with me. I’m going to get her by myself.”

“I know you love her. I know you do. But you shouldn’t risk this.”

“I don’t care, Bow!” Adora shouted, lashing out. She took a shaky breath before speaking, much quieter. “She would do the same for me. She would do it for me.”

Bow pulled Glimmer aside, and Adora vaguely overheard them arguing in hushed whispers. She hated when they did that.

“We can’t let you go, Adora,” Bow said firmly after a quick deliberation with Glimmer. Glimmer showed her agreement, standing by his side, arms crossed across her chest.

“It’s not worth it,” she chimed in. “I’m really sorry, but-” She sighed, trailing off, not wanting to tell Adora what they all already knew anyway: there was no way Catra could’ve survived all that she did. She was either killed on impact, or… worse.

Adora let out a sigh, unsure if it was from frustration, grief, or some combination of the both. She nodded silently, picking her duffel bag up off the floor. While there really wasn’t much in there that she wanted, she thought it best to bring it with her, at least as far as the bunker.

“Let’s go back to the bunker,” Bow said softly, draping an arm across her shoulders and leading her out of the bakery.

xx

Adora was outside the cabin, sitting on one of the benches on the porch, mindlessly sharpening the end of a stick with her pocket knife. Glimmer had asked her to keep her company while she tended to the garden. Sure, Adora thought it was a bit silly, but if that’s what helped her keep calm while the world was ending, then who was she to judge?

“Guys!” Bow shouted, emerging from the doorway. “I just got a transmission on the radio!”

“What’d it say?” Glimmer said, dropping her gardening tools in the grass.

“I didn’t catch everything, but I got bits and pieces. Something about a safe haven, with food and water and it’s safe there! There’s no walkers!” he exclaimed, almost breathless. “It sounds like a miracle!”

Adora scoffed. “Miracle is right. There’s no way that’s legit.”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Glimmer said, grinning. 

“I’ve been trying to get back in contact with them. I didn’t catch where the safe haven is, or even a nickname or anything,” Bow said, fiddling with his fingers absentmindedly. “I’m gonna keep trying until I get anything.” He quickly ran back inside.

“What do you think, Adora?” Glimmer asked cautiously.

Adora shrugged in response. The silence that came after was horrendously uncomfortable, and without meeting her eyes, she could tell Glimmer was staring at her, expecting more. “I don’t want to go anywhere until I find Catra.”

“Adora-”

“No, no, I know, okay?” She threw the stick she was whittling down on the ground harshly. “You and Bow don’t want me going. I know. But I  _ can’t _ leave until I know if she’s alive or not, you know?” She felt like she was grasping at straws trying to justify her emotions. “Imagine if you found out there’s a chance, even a slim one, that your mother’s alive. Wouldn’t you risk everything to bring her back?” She tried to meet Glimmer’s eyes, but Glimmer looked away, a hand clutched to her chest.

After a second of silence, Glimmer sighed. “I don’t know. I want to, I  _ really _ want to, but… If it puts me at risk, I know my mom wouldn’t want me to do anything reckless. She always said that, you know. That I was reckless, and stubborn, and always bit off more than I could chew, and that I would be better off being more like Bow, who was always so grounded and in the moment and could see things from every side. And she was always right. You need to see this from every side, Adora. I know that you want Catra back, but… Is she worth dying for?”

Adora opened her mouth to answer, but Glimmer simply held a hand up, silencing her.

“Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” She sighed and brushed the dirt off her pants before offering Adora a hand. “Now let’s go get dinner started, okay? You’ll feel better once you’ve eaten.”

Adora took her hand and stood up, following her inside the cabin. Despite what she said, she knew that she  _ had _ to look for Catra. It wasn’t even a want, it was a physical need. She couldn’t live with herself knowing that Catra was out there somewhere, waiting for her. Even if she had died, just… knowing would help. She needed closure. And she was determined to get it.

xx

Adora waited until late at night, when Bow and Glimmer had been asleep for a while. She could tell by the loud snoring emerging from Glimmer’s opened mouth, and the way that Bow’s breathing was much deeper than normal. She left a note on her pillow, explaining that she couldn't just pretend that Catra wasn’t out there waiting for her. She hoped they would understand. She grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before she started up the ladder. She had remembered how to unlock the grate, and let herself out into the cabin. She removed the barricade from the door and walked out into the cool night air.

It was silent in the forest. Not an owl dared to hoot, not a cricket dared to chirp. The only sound was the occasional crunch of a leaf or snap of a twig from Adora’s boots as she walked. The moonlight illuminated the dirt road in front of her, taking her back into town. The silence was almost eerie; Adora knew what was waiting for her in the darkness. She would never forget what lived in the darkness.

Part of her felt bad that she was leaving Bow and Glimmer the way she did. They had been nothing but nice to her, and while she would never say it to their faces, they  _ did _ have a point: risking everything on the off chance that Catra is actually out there waiting for her wasn’t a good idea. But she had to shove those thoughts into the back of her mind. Catra would risk everything for her, so she would do the same.

The town was as empty as it had been earlier that day. Where the hordes had run off to, Adora had no clue, nor did she want to know. Sure, one could make the argument that if she knew where they were, she could avoid them easier, but she also couldn’t be bothered to figure that out. As long as they stayed away from her, she was fine.

The echoes of a can clattering put her on guard. She gripped her bat tightly, freezing in place, listening. She slowly began to inch forward, careful not to step on anything that would give away her location. After another minute with no other noise, she began to walk faster, still not letting her guard down.

She turned down a familiar street, one that she and Catra had been down too many times to count. It felt like she was coming home. As she walked closer to the shop, she couldn’t help but let her mind think about Catra being inside, waiting for her in that back room like she always was. She couldn’t help but imagine pulling her into a tight hug and never letting her go again, whispering promises to never leave her, to stay by her side, to protect her better.

She broke into a run as the shop came into her line of sight, all caution thrown out the window. Memories flooded into her mind as tears began to stream down her face. She burst into the shop, not even taking in the rundown appearance of the shop. She moved behind the counter and opened the door to the hallway, almost sprinting down it before opening the door to the back room and finding it-

Empty.

_ Empty?! _

_ Where the fuck is Catra? _

Adora froze in the doorway. If she was able, she would’ve started to cry again. If she was able. The last thirty-six hours had left her unable to cry anymore. She couldn’t even feel disappointed. She couldn’t feel anything. She sighed and slid down the wall, sitting with her back to it, knees pulled to her chest. She should’ve known. Bow and Glimmer were right. She had risked so much on a limb and had come up empty handed. No Catra. No supplies. Nothing.

She must’ve sat there for an hour, maybe. Not like she had a concept of time, anyway. She hadn’t for a while, not since before the world ended. If she was honest, she barely had a sense of time when everything was normal. Catra would always make fun of her for that, for thinking maybe five minutes had passed when it had really been upwards of an hour. She always just chalked that up to her ADHD, though.

After a while, she stood up, her legs feeling weak. She would have to walk back to the bunker and pray that Bow and Glimmer wouldn’t be awake yet so that she wouldn’t have to explain that she ran off for nothing.

As she stood, she took one last fateful glance at the table. There were papers scattered across it, and Adora almost chuckled at it, at the memory of Razz. A sweet old woman, but good lord was she a bit of a nightmare. She bit back a laugh at the memory of Razz asking Adora if she knew anything about bookkeeping, and asking Adora to try to organize some files for her. It was so unnecessarily difficult for her to keep up with all of Razz’s files, because if she was being honest, she wasn’t convinced that Razz herself knew half the files she had.

Out of nostalgia, she flipped through some of the papers on the table. Time off request from one of the cashiers, a contract with some vendor. All sorts of things that she used to have to sift through, file properly in exchange for being able to hide out in that back room whenever the need arose.

There was a paper there, however, that wasn’t like the others. It was handwritten on loose-leaf paper, which Razz almost never did. While the handwriting very well could’ve been Razz’s considering how almost illegible it was, Adora could’ve recognized that handwriting anywhere. It was almost as burnt into her memory as the body it belonged to.

Her blood ran cold as she read the note left behind by Catra.

_ Adora, _ _   
_ _ I don’t know if you’ll ever see this. I hope you will. I’m running out of time. I wasn’t bitten, but I’m bleeding a lot. I can’t fucking believe that after everything we’ve lived through, that this is how I go. I’m sorry. For everything. You deserved a better friend than me. Maybe someday you can forgive me. I love you, Adora, and I’ll be waiting for you until we meet again. _

_ Catra _

She stared at the note, specks of blood that she could only assume were Catra’s dotted across parts of it. Her fingers traced the letters on the page, trying to feel any part of Catra again. Her breathing shuddered at the feeling, at the mental image of Catra sitting here in this room alone, bleeding out, dying and alone and  _ scared _ . That thought alone almost sent her spiraling again. She… she once promised Catra that she’d never have to be scared again. That someday they’d get out of that town and never look back. That was the promise that had kept Catra going, which she reluctantly admitted to once while in the midst of a breakdown.

Adora delicately folded the note, tucking it into her pocket. Her shoulders fell defeatedly before a thought crossed her mind.

_ If Catra died here… _

_ Where the hell is her body? _

She didn’t have time to think about that question any further. She heard noises outside of the shop, and noises were never a good sign. Many survivors had abandoned the town long ago to go try to live off the land, or maybe find another town, one with more resources. She didn’t even know Bow and Glimmer were scavenging the town anymore. Noises either meant an animal, or…

Hordes.

She didn’t even have to exit the building fully for the stench to reach her, making her gag in response. That alone told her everything she needed to know: there were so many hordes outside, far too many for her to fight her way through. She peered through the hallway and out the big windows in the front of the store and, to no surprise, the street was flooded with them. Crawling with them.

Adrenaline flowed through her veins at an alarming velocity, her breathing feeling tight and constricted. Her mind swarmed with thoughts, none of them good enough to get her out of the store.  _ A mind full of thoughts and you still can’t fucking get out of this store? _ she thought to herself. She mentally smacked herself for not being better. She couldn’t believe that all of that education she received, the dual enrollment at both her high school and the community college, it was all for nothing. 

She winced as the window shattered. There was nowhere to run anymore. Nowhere to hide. The only way in and out of that store was covered in hordes. And she was alone. Hopelessly alone, and about to die and  _ so afraid. _

The roar of motorcycles made her perk up.  _ That _ was something you really didn’t hear anymore. Even the use of cars and trucks were rare, seeing as the noise of an engine would attract any horde within a mile of you, but motorcycles? They were generally entirely out of the question. They were far too loud, and offered no defense against hordes. Who would be crazy enough to ride one in the middle of the night?

Her question was almost answered as two motorcyclists rounded the corner, distracting the hordes that were nearing her. As they dissipated, she crept to the front of the store. She couldn’t help but stare at the figures riding the motorcycles. Both were wearing helmets blocking their faces, but somehow they still looked distinctive, like she could never forget the way they looked despite never seeing their faces.

One was bigger than she ever thought possible for a human: she looked maybe seven feet tall, and almost pure muscle. With only one hand, she grabbed the axe slung across her back and swung it in calculated strokes, slicing a horde’s head clean off without skipping a beat. She repeated it over and over, putting a serious dent in the crowd of hordes that neared ever closer.

The other was… something special, to say the least. Her cackles echoed through the street, bouncing off the walls. She had long purple hair that stuck out of her helmet in long pigtails. On the front of her bike was what looked like the loader bucket from a construction truck. There were spikes coming out of the sides of her bike. She paused on her bike for only a moment, and within seconds the line of hordes surrounding her were lit aflame. Adora squinted and saw the woman holding a lighter and a can of hairspray.  _ That’s… certainly one way to do it, _ she thought to herself.

Within only a few minutes, the duo had completely cleared the hordes. Adora could only stare in awe, emerging slowly from the shop, arms up to show she wasn’t going to attack. They focused their headlights on her, flashed their high beams three times before they disappeared back down the road from whence they came, the sounds of their engines echoing into the night. Adora let out a dry chuckle before starting down the road in the other direction, back towards the bunker.

xx

The sun was almost fully risen by the time Adora got back to the cabin. She knew Bow and Glimmer would probably be awake, ready to practically kill her for running off the way she did. She was too exhausted to care. And they’d probably think twice about kicking her out if she told them about the girls on the motorcycles. Who those girls were, what their story was, where they came from, too much was still unknown for Adora.

As she suspected, as soon as she walked up the hill and the cabin came into sight, she saw Glimmer out front, arms crossed across her chest and foot tapping an annoyance.

“Well, well, look who  _ finally _ decided to show up,” she all but shouted.

“Sorry, sorry,” Adora grumbled, shoulders slouched forwards, the weight of her backpack suddenly weighing her down.

“You disappear all night and think you can get away with just a ‘sorry?’” she scoffed. “No. I don’t care what excuse you have. We told you not to go after Catra, and you did anyway-”

“Catra’s dead.”

The blatancy of Adora’s statement left Glimmer at a loss for words. Adora watched her try to figure out something, anything, to say to her, but come up empty. There really wasn’t anything for her to say.

After a moment of struggling to find words, Glimmer spoke. “Adora, I’m so sorry-”

“Save it,” she replied quietly, cutting her off. “It’s nothing I didn’t already know.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. As much as she hated to think it, and as much as she did not intend for it to come out that way, her tone screamed ‘I have nothing left to lose.’ Frankly, her voice made it sound like she had already been defeated. She pushed past Glimmer, entering the cabin and descending down into the bunker.

Bow glanced up at her from where he was seated, but after seeing the look on her face, he simply offered a small smile before turning his attention back to the radio. He fiddled with the knobs for a second before speaking into it. “Can anybody hear me? Over,” he said.

Adora paid little attention to the radio buzzing, Bow trying to get a message out to someone, anyone, or even Glimmer trying to get breakfast together despite Bow’s complaints. There was far too much on her mind. If Catra really was dead, like her letter led her to believe, then where was her body? If she was bleeding out, her body would’ve been there, right? And there was also the question of who those girls on the motorcycles were. Surely they were friendly, or they would have killed her. But they also didn’t stop to help her at all, save for killing the hordes that were surrounding her. She had no clue what either of them sounded like. Well, she could take a shot in the dark at the smaller one, seeing as she was cackling like a madman as she ran down hordes.

Glimmer’s hand on her shoulder made her jump, forcing her out of her thoughts. “Breakfast’s ready,” she said quietly, almost cautiously. To her credit, Adora’s mood might have been unpredictable. She didn’t exactly give them a heads up as to what she was feeling. She nodded silently before sliding out of bed and sitting down at the table.

Breakfast was… to say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement. Glimmer gave up on trying to make small talk; it felt more like she was walking on eggshells, anyway. At some point she asked Bow what progress he’s made on the radio, and Adora began to zone out. It wasn’t like she wasn’t interested in it. Quite the opposite, actually. The fact that he’d been able to receive a transmission from anyone was groundbreaking. But she knew that he hadn’t made any progress in trying to send one back, and hearing him talk about it was sort of heartbreaking. And she certainly did not need to be any more heartbroken than she already was.

From what she’d gathered, the transmission was from a girl. The speech was hard to transcribe, being broken. All Bow was able to say for sure was something about a safe haven: “No undead -- plenty of food -- running water -- electricity.” No updates on a location, though Bow had tried to return contact plenty of times throughout the day. If they could get to that safe haven…

Adora pushed around the black beans on her plate, and poked at the cornbread muffin she was given with it. The thought of there being a safe haven that she could’ve been in this whole time just made her feel sick to her stomach. Was all of the bloodshed she’d seen really been for nothing?

“I saw something,” Adora said suddenly, breaking the silence they had fallen into. Bow and Glimmer didn’t respond, instead opting to raise their eyebrows at her. “In town. I was… surrounded by hordes. I actually didn’t think I’d make it, but there were these girls, and they were riding motorcycles, and they were just… taking out hordes faster than I’ve ever seen. One of them was huge -- she could cut off a horde’s head with this axe she was carrying with only one hand. It was like she didn’t even have to try. The other one had decked out her bike with… I can’t remember exactly what it’s called, but it looked like the front end of a construction truck. She was running them down, setting them on fire, and cackling like a witch the whole time.”

“Are they dangerous?” Bow asked tentatively, furrowing his brows.

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, they could’ve killed me, but they didn’t.” She pushed her beans around some more before continuing. “They didn’t make any effort to see if I was okay, though. Sure, they killed the hordes, but they could’ve… I don’t know, taken me in or something.”

“You’re a stranger to them, Adora. Not everyone’s as trusting as we are.”

“Trusting, or crazy,” Glimmer commented.

“At any rate,” Bow continued, “we shouldn’t take any chances with these motorcycle girls. They’re clearly dangerous, and we don't know how friendly they’ll be.”

“Agreed,” Adora said. “But that also raises the question, how do we know that this safe haven is as safe as they say it is?”

“We don’t,” he said flatly. “It  _ does _ almost sound too good to be true. But if it is true, and if we miss out on it, we’ll never get that kind of security again. It’s a risk that’s worth taking.” Adora nodded in agreement, finally taking a bite of the beans she had been mindlessly playing with.

“You’re gonna keep trying to reach them, right?” Glimmer asked out of reassurance for herself.

“Of course. And when I can actually reach them, we’re going there. I don’t care how far it is, we can’t pass up this kind of opportunity.”

They didn’t say another word to each other, opting to finish breakfast in silence. At some point, Bow got up to wash dishes and fiddle with the radio some more, trying to get a response. Glimmer mumbled something about tending to the crops outside. Adora couldn’t move from her spot, still pushing around the beans that had become cold. A part of her wanted to move on, to go find the safe haven and pretend that nothing had ever happened. She knew it was selfish, and she tried to push the thought into the back of her mind.

She would find the safe haven. But she wouldn’t do it to move on.

She was doing it for Catra.

It’s what Catra would’ve wanted.

A silent sob forced its way out of her as she pulled the note out of her pocket, tracing its letters once more. She would live on, and make sure Catra’s name echoed throughout history if it was the last thing she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey don't kill me lmao. things will get better after this chapter i promise  
> uhhh thanks for reading, love y'all  
> leave a comment or something if you want, it do b making me feel better


	4. and flying above

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will be honest, this is the longest chapter of anything i've ever written and i just could not be bothered to edit it. forgive me for any grammar or spelling mistakes

Weeks had passed since the last transmission had been received from the safe haven. None of them knew what had happened to it. Maybe it wasn’t as safe as they thought, and it got overrun. Maybe it got destroyed by other survivors. Maybe a natural disaster. There were too many maybes, and it was getting to be very frustrating.

In the passing weeks, August had turned to October, and the cold fall air as well as the earlier nightfalls made their treks into town more risky than they were comfortable with. Glimmer had to all but abandon her garden, as nothing bloomed once the air chilled. They were still well enough stocked with food, though, and a fireplace to keep them warm when it got particularly cold.

They had started to keep watch during the nights. When everything went to shit back in March, they were reaching the end of the cold season. Nobody could be sure as to how the walkers would react when it got colder. Maybe it would make them hungrier, more ferocious, more bold. It had been Adora’s idea, ever the overthinker, to start keeping watch. She always offered to take watch, never wanting Bow or Glimmer to be the ones to sit outside alone in the cold all night. As unhealthy as it was, Adora felt she deserved it. She had to make up for the last time she kept watch back at the shop.

She had sat on a bench on the porch of the cabin, bundled up with Catra’s Horde High track jacket over whatever hoodie was in her duffel bag. She had her notebook opened on her lap, mindlessly doodling just to pass the time.

While the time had dulled the pain of losing her, Adora would never forget. She still carried her name everywhere she went, with every walker she took down, every step she made, every breath she took. Every piece of her still screamed Catra’s name as loud as it could. Though she was able to get out of bed, and able to eat, and though her chest didn’t feel as cold or as numb as it did in August, there was no mistaking it: she was still suffering, but she was managing.

Bow’s head poked out from the doorway. “Hey,” he softly said, trying not to disturb her.

“Hey.” She didn’t look up from her notebook.

“We’re making another supply run tomorrow,” he said. “We’re starting to run low on vegetables again.” Bow had always made a point of, even in an apocalypse, getting as many of the food groups in every meal as possible, despite Adora’s apparent abhorrence of canned vegetables. It was impossible to come by anymore, but god, what Adora would give for some fresh broccoli, or maybe a bell pepper.

“Bit of a risky trip just for some vegetables, don’t you think?” Adora commented, meeting his eyes. She was right; the walkers had been particularly nasty as of late. It wasn’t a rare occurrence for them to have to struggle against many of them every time they entered the town. In fact, some walkers had even ventured as far as starting up the dirt road leading to the cabin. That had only happened once or twice, but it still was a horrifying thought. With the fence, the cabin walls, and the bunker, though, they still felt safe enough to not feel the need to move away.

“It’s a worthwhile risk.” He sighed and sat on the bench next to her. “Besides, I’m really starting to get sick of Glim’s attempt at dinners. I mean, her green bean casserole felt like…” he trailed off, searching for words.

“The worst part of a  _ very _ white person’s Thanksgiving dinner?” Adora offered with a chuckle. Bow hesitated before nodding. “I thought so, too. My mom, I love her so much, but she couldn’t cook to save her life.”

“My dads were actually pretty good at cooking, I think,” Bow replied. After a second, he frowned. “Actually, scratch that. Only one of my dads was good at cooking. The other one, we never really let him in the kitchen.”

“What were your dads like, if you don’t mind me asking?” she asked softly.

“They were just… the biggest dorks I’ve ever met, except maybe for Glimmer,” he said, a light breathy laugh escaping his lips. “They were both historians, both history professors over at BMU.”

“Oh really? I got accepted there, I was gonna be a history major. I’ve met some of the professors, think I’d know them?”

“Maybe. Lance and George Burnham.”

Adora’s eyebrows shot up in realization. “I met one of them! I think I met… George? Maybe?”

“Kinda short, mustache, tattoo in some ancient language across his forearm?”

“And that tattoo actually says ‘lunch!’”

Bow’s eyes widened in surprise before he chuckled breathily. “That… was  _ you _ that told him that?” He let out a loud laugh, doubling over and holding his stomach. “He came home that day and he was  _ so upset _ about it! He thought it said ‘love’ and said that some prospective student ruined his life!”

“I ruined his life?” Adora almost shouted, her hand clamping her mouth shut. “I didn’t want to ruin his life!”

“No, me and Lance thought it was hilarious!” he said through laughs. After a minute, the laughter subsided and he took a deep breath, a wide smile still on his face.

“You should get some rest, Adora,” he said after another second. “I mean it. Please, sleep.”

Adora sighed, her grip on her notebook tightening. “I don’t-”

“It’s not an option,” he cut her off. “We’re going into town, and you need to have your strength. We’ll be okay in the bunker for one night, okay?” Adora nodded, allowing Bow to lead her inside the cabin, mindlessly watching as he barricaded it behind them.

xx

There was a different chill in the air as they crept into the silent town. Adora couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. She didn’t have to mention it to Bow or Glimmer; she could tell by the way they walked with a bit more purpose, yet were more cautious to the noises their shoes made beneath them.

The streets were empty per usual as they approached the store, still relatively untouched by the world falling apart around it. That was the main thing that had surprised Adora at first, but over time, she grew to just accept it and take any blessings that came her way.

Bow stood at the front of the store, silently keeping watch as the other two raided the aisles for any canned vegetables they stumbled upon. Adora was shoveling cans by the armful into her backpack, slinging it across her back to test the weight. They were in there for maybe five minutes. No canned vegetables, but Glimmer struck gold with her entire backpack full of a variety of soups, including the coveted chicken noodle. While soup wasn’t generally the most filling, it was certainly Adora’s favorite. There was something about it that just reminded her of a nice winter evening with her moms.

As Adora and Glimmer went back to the front of the store, the streets were still clear. A good sign, and definitely assuaging their earlier fears. They stepped out of the store, into the barren and desolate streets. Adora let out a quiet sigh of relief, basking in the silence of the town.

The group walked in silence, still not letting their guard down. Walkers were notorious, despite their pungent odor and loud animalistic growls, for sneaking up on people. Letting your guard down was practically suicide, and Adora knew that damn well.

They were so close. So fucking close. But of course, the world had it out for her for whatever reason.

The smell hit her first, just before they turned the corner to follow the street leading to the dirt road. The smell of decay, of rot, of blood. Adora felt her stomach turn to mush, spotting a group of almost twenty walkers blocking the dirt road.

“Bow?” Glimmer asked shakily, gripping her cricket bat tightly in her hands.

“Do you think we can get around them?” Adora asked, trying to hide the panic flowing through her veins.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Bow said, gesturing to the walkers that had begun to gather behind them. “Okay, come on,” he almost yelled as he grabbed Glimmer’s wrist and pulled her and Adora into the first shop they could see lining the street, a bookstore that Adora had been in maybe twice ever. He whimpered as he shoved a shelf in front of the door, blocking them in.

“I’m gonna look for another way out,” Adora called, dipping into the back room. Her eyes came across a ladder, with the words ‘Roof access’ and an arrow pointing up. She grinned, now knowing how they could escape. “Guys! Come on!” she called out, starting up the ladder.

She burst out onto the roof, eyes scanning the connecting roofs for a clearing in the walkers. She spotted one a few shops down with no walkers in the streets lining it. That had to be their only shot.

“Follow me,” she said to Bow and Glimmer once they joined her on the roof. They quietly crept across the connecting roofs until they reached the shop. There was a ladder on the side of the building, and still no walkers in sight. Adora slid down, landing solidly in the street. Bow and Glimmer silently followed, and Adora swore she had never run so fast in her life, in an all-out sprint until they reached the cabin, descended into the bunker, and collapsed onto her bunk.

xx

“Can anybody hear me? Over,” Bow repeated for the umpteenth time into the radio, a hand massaging his temple. He was starting to sound hopeless, but the desperation in his voice still rang clear. They couldn’t stay in that town any longer; it simply wasn’t safe with the way it seemed the walkers were getting smarter, stronger, bolder. They were expecting an army of walkers at their doorstep any day, and they weren’t sure what they would do if it were to happen. Sure, the bunker kept them secure, but one can only stay in a dingy bunker for so long before they either run out of food or go insane.

“Hello?” a voice replied, crackling through the static. The hand on Bow’s temple flew into the air in excitement.

“Hello?!” he called back as Adora and Glimmer came to his side.

“Hi! Who is this?”

“My name is Bow. I’m in Etheria. Who is this?”

“Oh, I’m Perfuma! Did you receive my earlier transmission about Plumeria?”

Bow raised an eyebrow at Glimmer and Adora before continuing. “You mean that safe haven with the food and running water and no walkers?”

“Good! You did!” Through her voice, Adora could tell the woman was smiling warmly. She couldn’t figure out if that comforted her, or made her more on edge. That kind of friendliness was a strange occurrence. “You said you’re in Etheria?” she asked, her voice trailing off like she was thinking. “That’s a bit far. Plumeria would normally be about a seven hour drive, give or take. Do you have a car?”

Bow sighed dejectedly. “No. How long do you think it’ll take to walk?”

“Gosh, to walk? Maybe- um… I’d give it two weeks.”

“ _ Two weeks? _ ” Bow all but shouted. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. We’re just running out of options here. The walkers are starting to become a bit too much for us to manage.”

“I understand completely. I know it will take you a while, but we really are trying to make a safe community here, one that’s completely sheltered from the undead. I can give you the address, and hopefully we’ll see you soon.”

They lost contact with the woman shortly after Bow was able to write down the address. It was certainly a ways away: they were in Maryland, and Plumeria was at the southern edge of North Carolina, to the point that it was practically in South Carolina. Adora knew how to get there roughly, though. Roughly was the key word there. She knew it was a straight shot down I-95, but once they got close, she was at a loss. There were bound to be rest stops along the way with maps, though.

Their plan was to begin to pack up the bunker, take the next few days to make sure everything was packed. In the meantime, Adora thought it might be smart to run into town and check if any cars were functioning. Unfortunately, even if a car would successfully turn on, it never had enough gas to get them passed Virginia. They were out of luck on that front, and would have to carry as many cans of food as they could comfortably fit in duffel bags and backpacks. They wouldn’t need to bring every can, though they were still going to try, and give what they could to other survivors in the off chance they ran into anyone. That being said, they did still have to watch the weight of the bags, because if things turned for the worse, they would need to be able to run without being weighed down. God, how useful it would be to have a car.

They left that Saturday. Why Adora was still counting the days was a mystery to Bow and Glimmer. She had said something about how it keeps her from spiraling, and they never questioned it. That wasn’t the real reason, though. It was the middle of October. Catra’s birthday was approaching, and while Adora had long given up hope that she was alive, she would rather spend an eternity rotting in the depths of hell than not celebrate it.

Adora’s backpack must’ve weighed upwards of forty pounds. She was so thankful for the times her moms took her backpacking, or her back might have simply snapped in two at the pressure. Bow and Glimmer carried a similar amount, though she could tell that Glimmer was not prepared for the feeling. Adora and Bow carried the food, enough canned goods to last them a month per person. Glimmer mostly carried anything else deemed important enough to not leave behind, notably including the picture of her family that Adora had noticed on the mantle of the fireplace her first day in the cabin.

Glimmer kissed her fingertips and touched them to the front door of the cabin, now abandoned. She mumbled something to herself, Adora couldn’t quite hear but she could imagine it was saying a final goodbye to her family, to her home, to her past. She sighed before turning away and leading the other two down the path.

“So it’s around 450 miles,” Bow said, looking at the map as they walked. “Humans average a walking pace of three miles per hour, so that’s, what…” He trailed off, raising an eyebrow to think about it. “A hundred and fifty hours?”

“That… sounds about right,” Adora said, not knowing how he got any of those numbers but going along with it anyway.

“If we walk ten to twelve hours a day, we could make it there in under two weeks, ahead of schedule,” he said as he folded the map and shoved it into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Oh, great,” Glimmer mused. “Nothing says ‘taking a trip south to the beach’ quite like walking for ten to twelve hours a day.”

“It’s not like we have any other options at this point, Glim.”

“I know. That doesn’t mean I can’t complain though,” she said under her breath.

They decided to cut through town to get to the highway. While it was a bit riskier, it would shave off almost three hours compared to if they were to walk around. The sun was still high in the sky, which was good. They weren’t sure why, but walkers were considerably less active in the daylight. Walking during the day was definitely the way to go.

The town was quiet, much quieter than the prior week on their supply run. Adora was thankful. It was wishful thinking for sure, but her mind couldn’t shake the thought that maybe their entire trek down to Plumeria would be as quiet.

They quietly walked down a street, their route plotted meticulously. There were certain parts of town that needed to be avoided, specifically around Fright Zone Coffee, as much as Adora hated that fact. For reasons they weren’t sure of, the walkers were more aggressive over there. They had mentally blocked off that entire area, just to be safe.

They were careful. They were  _ so fucking _ careful. But that was just the way of the universe, wasn’t it? No matter what you do, what precautions you take, it’ll never be enough. Adora should’ve known. She tried to shake that thought from her mind.

There was no possible way she could’ve known that the walkers were waiting for them in the shadows of an alleyway. How could she have known? The walkers were getting smarter, that was the only possible explanation.

They were cornered. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and the walkers were closing in on them from every angle. Tears streaked down Glimmer’s cheeks, fear clearly taking over her face. Bow’s eyes closed lightly, and he mumbled something under his breath, possibly a prayer. Adora choked out a shaky sigh. A breathless smile graced her lips, a feeling of… almost relief flowing over her.

Death didn’t scare her. She was going to see Catra again soon. And that was the last thought she allowed herself, a feeling of comfort that she hadn’t felt in ages. All of this suffering, all of this pain, it soon would be over, and she would be able to see Catra again. A single tear traced Adora’s cheekbone, falling to the ground unnoticed.

She felt heat on her back, and spun to see several walkers go up in flames.

“It’s you,” she whispered breathlessly as she watched the woman with long purple pigtails cackle and set countless walkers ablaze.

“Hello!” the woman shouted through her cackles. “We’re here to save you!”

“ _ We? _ ” Bow asked, raising an eyebrow.

Another woman- no, another  _ two _ women rounded the corner, also on motorcycles. Adora furrowed her brows. The woman with pigtails and the one with the muscles she recognized. But that other one she hadn’t seen before, despite the feeling of familiarity the woman radiated.

They easily created a gap in the walkers, enough for Adora, Glimmer, and Bow to escape.

“Want a ride?” the muscular one shouted. “Hop on!” Adora slid into the seat behind her, wrapping her arms around the woman’s torso. Glimmer and Bow did the same to the others. “Hang on to me, tight!” she yelled, revving the engine to her bike and following the other two, Glimmer and Bow latched on to each one, down the road.

They rounded the corner, still following the other two, before pulling into Etheria Community College. They dismounted and entered one of the buildings. Adora recognized it as the science building, one that she personally had never stepped foot in but had been around campus long enough to know it.

The woman whose bike she shared pulled off her helmet, and Adora couldn’t help but stare. She was certainly an attractive woman: defined facial features that somehow looked both cut and soft at the same time, with white hair.

“No way,” one of the other women said, stepping closer, her voice chillingly familiar. The woman reached out her hand, gently, before pulling back. She took a shaky breath and let out a breathy laugh before removing her helmet. Adora gasped, feeling like she had just seen a ghost.

“Catra?” she choked out.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra said softly.

Tears welled in Adora’s eyes as she pulled her into the tightest hug she had ever felt, Adora’s hand resting on the back of her head, fingers lacing through her hair. Catra looked  _ so  _ different than when Adora last saw her. Her hair had been cut short, there was a jagged scar running across her nose, and another scar was on her nape; Adora gently ran a finger across it as her hand dipped down from the back of her head, coming to rest on her upper back.

“I’ve missed you so  _ fucking much _ ,” Catra mumbled into Adora’s shoulder.

“I’ve missed you too,” she said through soft sobs.

After a second, Catra reluctantly pulled away. “This is Scorpia and Entrapta,” she said as she gestured to the woman with white hair and the woman with pigtails, respectively. “They kinda rescued me, after…” She didn’t want to finish it. Adora understood, nodding silently.

“So, Plumeria?” Scorpia asked after a second of silence.

“We intercepted your radio transmissions going back and forth from some signal from South Carolina, and we were able to listen in,” the woman Catra had called Entrapta said. “We figured it was you since you guys are the only people left here besides us. We’ve been trying to get in contact with Plumeria for weeks, actually. We were planning on leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh, you guys are leaving too?” Bow asked.

“Surely you noticed how the zombies around here have gotten desperate, right?” Entrapta asked. Bow nodded silently. “So you see why we all have to leave.” She was quiet for a second, before another thought crossed her mind. “There is, however, the very real possibility that the zombies in North Carolina are getting to the same level of desperation. There is also a possibility that they are worse there, or that they are worse in Virginia.”

“That’s a lot of possibilities,” Glimmer said, eyes going wide.

“Yes, correct. There is very little that we do actually know.” She grinned almost wickedly. “Isn’t it fun!”

“No, not particularly,” Glimmer quietly commented.

“So, how did you all meet each other?” Scorpia asked. Suddenly she winced. “Sorry, am I not allowed to ask that?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Bow reassured her. “Me and Glimmer here have been best friends for a while. We saved Adora from a bunch of walkers back in August, and she’s stuck with us ever since.”

“That’s so cute,” Scorpia almost squealed.

“And Adora and Catra know each other because they’re in love,” Entrapta said nonchalantly.

The silence that fell among the group was deafening, and heavy, and almost unbearable. Entrapta didn’t look up from her notebook, busy writing down something with such speed that Adora was sure it was absolutely illegible. After a second, she looked up, meeting the eyes of everyone that had been boring into her.

“Was I not supposed to say that?” she asked, furrowing her brows. “I assumed everyone knew already.”

“No, actually, I don’t think I knew that,” Bow said slowly. Catra’s face was bright red, and Adora could tell hers was redder.

“I’m just- I’m gonna, uh,” Catra stammered, “I’m going to get them set up some cots.” She quickly ducked out of the room, and somehow, even though she was gone, Adora only felt more uncomfortable than before.

“So, Entrapta,” Bow started, “were you guys gonna ride your bikes down to Plumeria?”

“No, they’re too loud and take up too much gas for it to be worthwhile. I’ve been searching for any electric cars, maybe even a hybrid, but haven’t found anything yet. We’re in a predominantly white suburban area, I can’t believe nobody is driving a Prius! I mean, there’s Joe Biden 2020 signs everywhere, and not a single hybrid car? Ridiculous!”

“Bow, didn’t we see a Tesla around here somewhere?” Glimmer asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I think so, but I don’t really remember,” he replied.

They continued to talk about electric cars, and somehow that conversation morphed into how there was no ethical consumption under capitalism, and how Bow was glad that society had crumbled, and Adora honestly was beginning to zone out.

Scorpia nudged her, bringing her back to reality. “Hey, do you wanna help me with something real quick?” she asked.

“Anything to get out of this conversation,” she sighed. Scorpia led her out into the hallway, and chuckled lightly.

“I was feeling the same way. I didn’t have anything to do, you just looked as bored as me.” Adora smiled at her, somehow feeling comforted by the presence of this incredibly large, somewhat intimidating, yet very nice woman.

“Can I ask how you all met?” Adora asked.

“Oh, of course!” She smiled brightly. “I met Entrapta a few years ago. I actually go- or I guess went to ECC, working on getting some core credits out of the way before transferring to BMU. ECC does some great work for people who wanna go into nursing, but… that doesn’t matter anymore, I guess. Anyway, I knew Entrapta before the disease. She has her PhD I’m pretty sure, which is really impressive because I think she’s like twenty-five or something like that. ECC let her do her research in the labs here, and sometimes I helped out. That was kinda what we did for the better half of the last year before the world ended. She was one of my best friends.

“Catra, though… She’s a more interesting story. Entrapta has these security cameras set up around town, and we’ve been trying to pick at groups of zombies, kinda to get their numbers down. We saw… everything that happened that day.” Adora felt like a brick had been thrown at her chest, but it was as if she was made of ice, and the brick completely shattered her, the wind carrying the pieces of her away. “We didn’t see how she got out, and for a bit we didn’t know where she ended up. We found her unconscious a few days later in Razz’s Frozen Delights. She had this gash on her leg that got infected. Honestly, if we were a day later, I don’t think she would’ve made it. We brought her back here, and Entrapta had to, uh… Well, the plus side is Catra’s still alive. The downside is that she- sorry, I don’t really know how to put this… She is missing half of her leg? But she’s like totally okay aside from that!”

Scorpia kept rambling, but after that news, Adora found it impossible to focus. At some point, Scorpia excused herself back into Entrapta’s lab, mumbling something about trying to plot out a route to get to Plumeria, and Adora had just kept walking down the halls, neither clue nor care where she was going.

xx

Late that night, long after everyone else had gone to sleep, Adora had snuck out onto the roof, leaning over the guardrail, her elbows resting on the cold metal. ECC campus was sat in the middle of town, and Adora watched the streets fade away in every direction. Her breath became clouds with every exhale, and the cold nipped at her skin, making her pull her jacket tighter across her, bundling into it. Stars dotted the skies above her, and she smiled, remembering the first time she had seen stars.

Her moms had taken her camping over the summer between third and fourth grades, at her request. They had gone way out west, to North Dakota, to the beautiful Theodore Roosevelt National Park. They were out there for a week, doing mostly short hikes during the day with following a trail out to find the perfect spot to camp out for the night. Growing up in Etheria, with all its light pollution, Adora had never seen stars. So on their first night, as they ate dinner under the stars, Adora was entranced.

She remembered giggling, and telling her moms, “they look like Catra’s freckles!”

She sighed at the memory, her chest feeling heavy suddenly. She missed her moms. They had been away for the week, in Atlanta on some business trip, when everything went to shit. She had heard on the news that Atlanta had become a hotspot, an epicenter for the disease. For a while, she held out hope that her moms were okay, that they had made it out of the city and found somewhere safe to hide out. Maybe they had. Maybe they were out there somewhere, looking for her. Or… maybe not. The thought broke her heart, but if she was belong realistic, she knew that-

“Can’t sleep?” A voice from behind her made her jump, cutting off her thoughts. She spun around to see Catra standing in the doorway of the roof access staircase.

“Thinking,” she replied quietly, turning back to the railing.

“Well don’t hurt yourself,” Catra said as she stood next to her, her voice holding that familiar mix of teasing and concern. “What’re you thinking about?” she asked softly.

“My moms, mostly.” She sighed and looked up at the sky, searching for the constellations her moms taught her to be able to find. “I was thinking about the first time I saw stars.”

Catra hummed in lieu of response, allowing them to fall into a comfortable silence. It had been forever since Adora had felt the way she did in that moment. She had missed it dearly.

“I like your hair, by the way,” Adora said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Catra’s cheeks flushed red, and she ran a hand through her hair. “Thanks,” she mumbled, her usual tone of brattiness and sarcasm missing from her voice. “Hey, I know that you probably wanna set up your bed next to Sparkles and Crop Top-”

“Glimmer and Bow,” Adora corrected her.

“Right, right, whatever. I was just… I know it’s been forever, since we- uh, well, I was just wondering if you, maybe…”

“What is it?” she asked softly.

“Adora, would you mind staying with me, just for tonight?” Catra asked cautiously, her voice soft and almost pleading.

“Of course,” Adora replied, matching her tone, a large dopey grin appearing across Catra’s face. She took Catra’s hand as she was led back inside and down the hallway. Though she had never been in the building before, something about the situation felt excruciatingly familiar to her. It felt like nothing had ever happened, that the world was still alive and well and that they were just running late to class again.

Catra pushed open a door which led into a small classroom. The chairs and tables had been removed, and there was a queen-size mattress on the floor, complete with black sheets and four pillows.

“Did you want me to sleep on the floor?” Adora asked tentatively. A look of hurt flashed across Catra’s face, but immediately disappeared when a small, nervous smile took its place.

“I thought we could share, if that’s okay.”

The sentence, as comfortable as it would’ve been months ago, came as a shock to Adora, for reasons she couldn’t even begin to articulate. It wasn’t like they had never shared a bed before; in fact, it was quite the opposite. On some nights, when Catra had snuck out of her mom’s house and had Adora pick her up, instead of going to Razz’s, they would go back to Adora’s house, and sleep together in her bed. It had always been  _ so _ comforting for the both of them. There was something about Catra’s head resting on Adora’s chest, Adora’s hand running lovingly through her wild brown hair, their legs tangling together. The memory made Adora’s chest feel warm and fuzzy, and while she would never admit it, she would do anything to chase after that feeling.

“Okay.”

Her response was simple, partly because she was at a loss for words, but also because there was nothing more that needed to be said. Though they had been apart for some time, they could still read each other like a book. She knew Catra could feel her excitement, feel her joy, through her one-worded response, the same way she could feel Catra’s nerves through the way she hastily kicked off her boots and tossed her shirt into the darkness of the room without a care.

If it were anyone but Adora in the room with her, Catra would’ve felt uncomfortable at the nonchalance of the removal of her clothes, and Adora knew it. But it was just Adora, the person who comforted her, who refused to leave her side throughout high school, who was one of the few people in the world who recognized her flaws and loved her despite them.

Adora followed in her footsteps and crawled into the bed next to her. Catra’s head found her chest in the darkness. Adora’s fingers laced through Catra’s hair, her palm cupping the back of her head. Their legs tangled together.

And that was the first night in months that Adora had slept soundly, without a care or worry in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey sapphics, come get y'all's juice
> 
> thanks for reading, hope this chapter ending makes up for the mystery of catra a bit. leave a comment, thanks a lot to everyone who has, reading the comments is one of the few things giving me serotonin  
> thanks :)


	5. if there were any more left of me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for this taking so long to get out, i couldn't figure out for the life of me how i wanted this chapter to go. i went through maybe 6 drafts before finally settling on this one. so uhhh enjoy

Adora felt… warm. But it was beyond just the blankets she was wrapped up in. She felt the warmth flow through her veins, beginning in her chest and expanding outwards. It felt like a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter’s morning; it felt like waking up for school in January and finding it cancelled for snowfall, and spending the day baking cookies and drinking hot chocolate with her moms.

She let out a sigh as she stretched her legs, feeling the tension resolve itself. She slowly blinked her eyes open, taking in the room around her. The night before, it had been far too dark to see, but in the morning light flowing in from the skylight --  _ a skylight? How fancy is this community college?  _ \-- she could see the room clearly. And a part of seeing the room clearly was seeing that she was not alone in that bed.

Catra laid next to her. Well, technically not  _ next _ to her, seeing as she was basically laying on top of her. Catra’s head rested on Adora’s chest, nestled between her jaw and her collarbone. Her arms were wrapped around her, their legs intertwined. Memories of the last time they awoke like this flashed before her eyes, but this time she was sure they would have no unwelcomed interruptions.

It was peaceful. It was warm. It was comfortable. And Adora wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“You’re staring at me.” Catra’s voice cut through the silence, making her jump.

“Sorry-”

“I didn’t say I minded.” She picked her head up, her eyes boring into Adora’s. “I’ve missed this.”

“I missed this, too,” she said with a dorky smile. She stretched again, sighing. “What time is it?”

“Time isn’t real, you dork,” Catra said, grinning. “But we should probably get up. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover if we’re gonna get to Plumeria today.” She sat up, stretching her arms above her head before getting out of bed.

Adora hadn’t noticed it in the dark of the night before, but now that it was light, and Catra was wearing shorts, she couldn’t help but notice her leg. “Catra?” she asked tentatively. Catra turned to look at her, confusion plastered across her face. Her eyes followed Adora’s down to the lower half of her left leg, or rather where it should be. In its place was black metal attached to her knee. Adora had almost forgotten about the fact that Scorpia mentioned it in passing the day before.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” she stuttered out. “I, uh… I promise I’ll tell you about everything later, but it’s kind of a lot to get into right now. Long story short, Entrapta had to amputate my leg.”

“Is she even qualified for that?”

“Who knows?” she said with a nonchalant shrug. “All I care about is that I didn’t die from septic shock, and the, uh… the fake leg? I forget the name. It works fine, I can walk and drive and kick zombie ass.”

“And that’s all that matters, I guess,” Adora said quietly. “I’m just glad you’re mostly okay.”

“Wow, never would’ve pegged you for a sap,” she said with a laugh. “Now, come on, I think Scorpia got breakfast ready,” she said as she slid a shirt over her head.

xx

“Good morning!” Scorpia said, chipper as ever, a bright smile on her face. “We have granola and dried mango, also some peanut butter but I don’t really think that goes with anything. But hey, if you want a spoonful of peanut butter, who am I to tell you what to do?” She smiled wider, despite the fact that Adora thought it wasn’t possible.

“Peanut butter and granola actually sound like they might go together,” Entrapta said, scooping a dollop of peanut butter on the top of her bowl of granola.

“I think it’ll dry the hell out of your mouth,” Catra commented as she grabbed a handful of dried mango. “But hey, whatever floats your boat.” Entrapta ate a spoonful of her granola and peanut butter, and immediately made a sour face. She smacked her tongue, the peanut butter obviously sticking to it.

“You would be correct!” she struggled to announce, grabbing a bottle of water.

Adora chuckled and got a bowl of granola, with a few pieces of dried mango on top. Bow and Glimmer walked into the room not long after.

“Good morning,” Scorpia said. “Sleep well?”

“Do you guys have any coffee?” Glimmer mumbled.

“Nope,” Catra said smugly. “You’ll get used to that soon enough.” Glimmer groaned before she grabbed a bowl of granola.

“What I would give to have a nice iced coffee,” she said under her breath. “I miss Starbucks.”

“So, here’s the plan for today!” Entrapta announced. “Bow and Glimmer have a truck, but it ran out of gas. But it is still fully functional, correct?” Bow nodded silently. “All we have to do is siphon some gas out of another car. The parking garage next to Smith Theater still has a lot of cars in it - none of them are electric, believe me, I checked - but we can see how much gas we can get out of them. It won’t be enough to get us all the way to Plumeria, but it’ll be a good start.”

“We’d have to get the gas first, because the truck is, like,  _ completely _ out of gas,” Glimmer mentioned.

“There’s a five gallon gas can in one of the other rooms, I saw,” Catra added. “We could fill that up and then go to the truck.”

“We shouldn’t fill it all the way, it would be approximately thirty pounds,” Entrapta said. “Fill it enough to comfortably run with. The truck is a bit far.”

“What if,” Adora started, “and I’m just throwing out options here, what if we just went to the parking garage and tried to find a car that’ll start? That way we wouldn’t have to go across town for the truck.”

“That’s not a bad idea. If there are no viable cars, though, we’ll double back for the truck. And if we have to go for the truck, we’ll leave tomorrow instead of today. I think it will work better for our timing that way.”

“So is there a specific type of car we should look for?” Scorpia asked. “Obviously some have better mileage than others, but I was never really a car person.”

“How about we see which ones we can get started and then work from there?” Bow suggested.

“Oh, yeah, I like that plan.”

“So it’s settled, then,” Catra said. “After breakfast, we’ll go see which cars in the garage will start, and we’ll take gas from the rest.”

xx

The garage held less cars than Entrapta led them to believe, but there were still a decent amount to choose from. Catra, however, appeared to be the only one who knew how to hotwire a car, so unless there were keys inside, they had to wait for Catra. And the cars with keys were few and far between. From the post-apocalyptic content she had consumed before the world ended, Adora thought there would be more cars that still had keys in them than there actually were. Maybe people in those stories were luckier.  _ Luck. That’s funny, _ she thought to herself.

They had a few good candidates for cars, and they also had a good laugh at the 1999 Toyota Camry that somehow was still able to turn on, despite it literally being old enough to legally consume alcohol, the cigarette burns inside, and all of the dents on the exterior. Adora could almost imagine a sixteen year old who was driving it, given to them by their parents, totalling it running a red light.

They eventually decided on the 2013 Nissan Sentra. It had decent enough mileage, at around thirty-five miles per gallon. To say it looked well loved was quite the understatement. There was a Parks and Recreation themed air freshener, a bright red gift bow stuck to the dashboard, dozens of Dunkin’ Donuts receipts -- whoever had owned the car always got the same thing: a large iced macchiato with caramel swirl -- and sheet music tossed haphazardly in the back seat. The trunk was also a complete disaster, but there were some useful things back there, such as a folding chair, blankets and pillows, and a car repair kit. On the back of the car were a few stickers: a Stevenson University sticker, a Maryland flag crab sticker -- a staple for anyone living in Maryland -- and one that says “tell your dog I said hi.” Stuck to the glovebox was a sticker that Adora assumed was the name of the car: the Thot Mobile. 

“I got $10 saying whoever owned this car was gay,” Catra mused, nudging Adora.

“What makes you say that?” she replied, raising an eyebrow.

“The iced coffee receipts, mostly.”

“Have you guys seen the CDs that they had?” Glimmer asked from the driver’s seat. “This person was  _ totally _ LGBT.” She held up a few CDs. “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded by Nicki Minaj? White Noise by PVRIS? Danger Days by My Chemical Romance? LGBT and emo, for sure,” she said with a laugh.

“At least we have  _ something _ good to listen to on the way down,” Catra said.

“Aw, you’re emo, too!”

“Can it, Sparkles.”

“So, I have a question,” Bow said. “Does anybody know how to actually siphon gas out of a car?”

Everyone silently turned to face Catra. She looked around before she groaned. “Why everyone assumed I would know is beyond me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But yes, I know,” she grumbled under her breath.

She made quick work of siphoning gas out of a few cars. They weren’t able to get the tank to fill up all the way, but they figured ten gallons should get them far enough so they would only have to walk for a few days, if at all.

They were able to fit all of their food into the trunk, with plenty of room to spare. The car had a surprising amount of trunk space. Adora had the idea to slide by the strip mall about a five minute drive from ECC to drop into the R.E.I. that was there and get sleeping bags and camp pillows, which was unanimously agreed upon.

“Hey, can I throw a thought out there?” Adora cautiously asked as they were packing.

“Go for it,” Bow said.

“Now, I don’t think it’ll happen, but if it does… if anything happens and we get separated from each other, we have to promise to get to Plumeria.” Her tone held seriousness, but also fear. She didn’t  _ want _ to lose anyone, but she knew what could happen, and she was horrified. “Don’t go back for anyone. Just make it to Plumeria.”

“Adora, that’s not gonna-” Glimmer started.

“Please,” Adora cut her off. “I don’t think it will, but… please. We all have to get to Plumeria first.”

“I promise,” Bow said softly.

Everyone had agreed. Plumeria comes first.

With one last run through the halls of ECC, they had all of their supplies packed up and were almost ready to leave Etheria for good.

xx

The trip to R.E.I. went smoothly. Perfectly, actually. Maybe even too perfectly. Adora had learned to become suspicious whenever things went perfectly according to plan, no walkers in sight, no problems. It made her on edge. She tried to push those thoughts down, to just accept the blessings that came her way and keep moving. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something very bad would happen.

Catra had the first driving shift, which was definitely… a choice. As long as Adora had known her, she never got her learner’s permit, obviously never her license, and she felt like an overbearing mother gripping the roof handle for dear life as if that would do anything. Logically, Adora knew there were no laws anymore, no need for turn signals or speed limits. But a part of her desperately wished Catra would stop doing fifty in a thirty. Sure, there was no oncoming traffic for her to run into, and most pedestrians were really walkers that… she hated to say they deserved to be hit, but that was just their reality.

“We should play a road trip game!” Scorpia suggested from the backseat. Adora felt a bit bad for those in the backseat, since she had selfishly claimed shotgun under the guise of making sure Catra didn’t crash. Bow, Glimmer, and Scorpia were packed tightly, buckled in, with Entrapta sprawled out atop them. It reminded her a lot of when she offered to drive people home after a party in high school: Adora driving, Catra sitting up front, and five people she barely knew holding on in the backseat.

“What did you have in mind?” Bow asked.

“If you say I Spy, I’m wrecking the car,” Catra mused.

“I spy with my little eye: ungrateful scum,” Glimmer said smugly.

“Sparkles, with god as my witness, I will make you walk your ass to Plumeria.”

“How about we talk about what we miss most from the before times?” Scorpia offered, trying to keep the peace.

“Nothing too deep or emotionally draining. I’m absolutely not in the mood for that,” Catra said.

“Coffee,” Glimmer groaned. “I would always get this thing from Starbucks that had, like, six shots of espresso.”

“And your heart hasn’t, like, stopped?” Adora deadpanned. “Like, you’ve never gone into cardiac arrest? No hospital trips?” Glimmer just shook her head. “Huh. I’m now scared of you.”

“That’s impressive,” Catra said. “I think I miss breakfast food.”

“What do you mean? We had granola and dried mango this morning,” Entrapta said.

“Like pancakes and eggs.” She was quiet for a minute before her eyebrows shot up. “No! Wait! Those, uh, fuck what are they called… from IHOP, the like… pancakes but they were shaped like that Italian dessert thing with the cream.”

“Cannolis?” Scorpia asked slowly.

“Yes!” she shouted. “The pancake cannoli things from IHOP.”

“That’s really specific,” Bow said, laughing.

“The IHOP was open 24/7, and we used to go real late at night so it’d just be us,” Adora added. “It was nice. The waiters actually knew us.”

“Yeah, we’d come in and they’d just… know what we wanted,” Catra said with a huge smile.

“I think I miss yogurt,” Scorpia said after a bit of silence.

“I loved those ones with the mini M&Ms that you’re supposed to dump in,” Entrapta said. “But I think I just liked the M&Ms.”

“That’s fair, mini M&Ms are delicious,” Scorpia said with a smile. “I think I miss those, too.”

“I miss going to the library,” Bow said a bit too proudly, causing Catra to snort. “Okay, listen,” he defended, “I enjoyed getting some coffee, bringing a snack, and just getting some work done for a few hours.”

“Were you in high school? College?” Scorpia asked.

“Junior in high school,” he said. “I was studying for hours trying to get higher than my siblings on the SAT.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Twelve.”

“Twelve siblings?” Catra said, shocked. “God damn, that’s a lot.”

“Yeah, neither of my dads had a lot of family, so they just made one themselves. A big one.” He shrugged. “I never got lonely growing up, I guess.”

“Okay, all this talk about before the world ended is making me a bit…” Adora began, trailing off. “Not sad but I can’t quite explain it.”

“Do you wanna put on music?” Glimmer suggested. “CDs are in the center console.” Adora opened it, and a huge smile appeared on her face as she pulled a CD out. Without another word, she slipped the CD into the player and turned the volume up.

_ Take your medication, Roman _

_ Take a short vacation, Roman _

_ You’ll be okay _

“Of all the music this person had, you chose… Nicki Minaj?” Glimmer shouted over the music.

“Exactly!” she shouted back, grinning ear to ear.

“You’re such an idiot,” Catra said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I know,” she said, her smile not fading.

xx

They had only made one stop at some long abandoned Waffle House to switch drivers -- Catra was inexperienced, and Adora offered to switch when they were only an hour in -- before they came to a rest stop outside of Rocky Mount in search of a map. The address said it was in Sunset Beach, which, if they were honest, they had no clue where that was.

“So the plan is run into the rest stop, try to find a map, and then book it back here, right?” Catra asked. “And if there’s any sign of trouble, we book it, with or without a map.”

“That’s the plan,” Bow replied.

“It looks clear,” Scorpia noted.

They quietly opened the car doors, creeping out into the still of the afternoon. The sun was high in the sky, hopefully warding off any walkers. For some reason they were more active in the night. Adora never questioned it; she simply made a mental note about it and tried to keep inside during the night.

There were few cars in the parking lot of the rest stop, maybe six or seven. Adora hoped that meant that there wouldn’t have been anyone who got abandoned here. Maybe there wouldn’t be any walkers, and maybe no decomposing bodies either. God how she hated the smell of rot.

The glass doors to the information center had been smashed in, probably by looters. What loot the building had was probably miniscule, limited to whatever was in the vending machines. If they were fortunate enough they could get a king-sized Reese’s Cup, which was a god tier candy in Adora’s professional opinion.

Silence deafened them as they entered the building. The silence was soon replaced by gentle footsteps. A wave of relief washed over Adora as the building felt still.

“I found the maps,” Bow whispered, pointing to a wall with a bunch of brochures. He quietly walked over, stepping over shards of broken glass that were littering the floor. His eyes scanned the wall, searching for one that at least had Sunset Beach on the map. It wasn’t a well-known town, maybe four thousand people before the world ended.

Catra helped Bow search, snatching a few maps in the process. Adora assumed they had more information about where they were going. She kept an eye out, searching for any signs of movement, any signs of walkers.

Suddenly, one of Bow’s arms shot up. “I found it!” he shouted. His eyes went wide and he clamped a hand over his mouth.

Something like the sound of feet shuffling against a tile floor began to echo throughout the building, the source unknown until one of the bathroom doors burst open. A steady stream of walkers filled the lobby of the information center.

Scorpia stepped in front of Entrapta in an attempt to shield her. Inside the building, it wasn’t a safe idea for Entrapta to start setting walkers on fire, and she didn’t have any other weapons. Bow and Glimmer began to attack any walkers that got near them, trying to hold the line. Adora was about to try to get everyone back to the car when she realized that Catra wasn’t with the rest of them.

Her eyes darted through the sea of decomposing faces until her eyes met Catra’s. There were a solid fifteen walkers between them, and they were closing in on her.

“Catra!” Adora screamed out.

“Adora, you have to go!” she replied, grunting as she hit a walker in the face.

“I’m not leaving you again!” She fought her way towards Catra, hitting walker after walker until she was by Catra’s side. Her shirt was drenched in blood, with more spattered across her face. “Bow, get to the car! We’ll find you in Plumeria!” she yelled, defending herself from another.

Bow’s eyes went wide, wide enough for them to see the whites of his eyes from their distance. He nodded, grabbing Glimmer’s arms and breaking into a sprint towards the car, Entrapta and Scorpia right on his tail.

“Adora, we have to move!” Catra shouted, hitting another walker.

Adora smashed a way through the wall of walkers, narrowly avoiding being scratched. She burst through, leaving a path behind her for Catra. As soon as they were clear, they sprinted towards the back door and ran out into the open.

The walkers were following slowly behind them, shuffling as fast as their rotting legs would take them. Adora was thankful for her and Catra’s track experience in high school as they kept sprinting back onto the highway, and didn’t stop running for a few miles until they determined it was safe enough to slow for a walk.

Adora’s eyes met Catra’s, and they had a shared realization.

They had a hell of a long way to walk to Plumeria.

xx

They had been walking in almost silence for hours. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. Sure, Adora was so thankful that they were together. But she could tell that she was nervous. They had maybe three cans of food between the two of them, and they knew it wouldn’t last long. But they also had no clue where to go to get more. They were in the middle of nowhere. No towns nearby, just fields upon fields upon fields. And that was not a good sign. The sun was beginning to set, and the way the sky turned a gorgeous orange should have been calming, peaceful. But she knew it wasn’t.

“Hey,” Adora said, nudging her elbow, “we should find somewhere to set up camp for the night soon.”

Catra sighed, pulling the map out of her back pocket. Her eyes canned the paper before she frowned. “We have a lot of ground to cover. At this rate, we won’t get to Plumeria for days.”

“How much farther are we going?”

“From the rest stop, it’s almost 200 miles. We’re somewhere around here.” She pointed to a river on the map, which was… very far from Plumeria.

“Wow, okay,” Adora said under her breath. “I don’t know if I wanna walk during the night.”

“I’m not so sure we have a choice here, Princess.” She folded the map and slipped it back into her pocket.

“I just think it might be safer if we holed up somewhere. Just for the night.”

Catra stopped and turned to face her, anger contorting her face. “It would’ve been safer if you just did what I told you to. I  _ told _ you to go with the others. I  _ told _ you not to worry about me. But you just had to come with me, didn’t you? You had to try to make yourself feel useful. But you know what, Adora? I don’t need you.”

Adora was silent. Her eyes darted back and forth between Catra’s, trying to get any read on her emotions. Her throat felt tight as she spoke. “Are you… mad at me?” she asked quietly. Catra didn’t respond; she stood there in front of her, breathing heavily. “What did I do?”

“You left me,” she said much quieter after a second. “You left me there to  _ die _ , Adora.”

“I-I’m sorry, Glimmer wouldn’t stop the truck.”

“You never came back.”

“Yes, I did, Catra,” she pleaded. “I found your message in the bakery, and I found your… hold on.” She unzipped the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out a small folded up piece of paper, handing it to Catra. “I found your note. I thought… I thought you had died, and I’d never get to see you again.” Catra’s eyes went wide as she stared at the note she left for Adora all those weeks ago, that she had apparently kept the whole time. Her eyes met Adora’s, tears welling in the corners.

“Why did you come back for me? We both know I don’t matter.”

“You matter to me.”

And that was enough.

Catra pulled her into a hug so tight she could barely breathe.

“Thank you,” she quietly mumbled into Adora’s shoulder.

“Of course.” She pulled away. “Now, show me that map again.” Catra pulled the map back out of her pocket.

“So we’re by this reservoir,” she said, pointing to a big blue spot on the map. “We just crossed over it. And I think these are houses over here.” She pointed to a road just off the interstate. “We could see if any of those are safe enough.”

They walked another mile, finally coming across the small neighborhood. They walked through the line of trees, one house coming into clear view. From the outside, it looked safe enough. No broken windows, the doors were still intact. It looked like the most basic of McMansions: a big, empty house, stupidly designed, owned by an upper-middle class family that thought they were better than people just because they shopped at Whole Foods. Exactly the kind of people that Catra used to talk shit about when they were in high school.

Adora held up a hand as they silently crept into the house, listening intently for any signs of life. Well, life probably wasn’t the word she wanted to use. Any signs of movement would probably be better phrasing, but she didn’t really have the time to think about it.

Silence.

“Barricade the doors,” Adora whispered to Catra, who was already moving to do just that. She gently sat a bookcase down in front of the front door while Adora moved a table in front of the back.

The interior of the house was an open floor plan, leaving them enclosed within one large room that was a combination living room, dining room, and kitchen. The upstairs would be tricky to block off, so after jamming a chair under the handle of the door to the basement, they quietly crept up.

Still silence.

Despite the chaos and misfortune of the day, Adora felt lucky that it was still silent.

_ Huh. Lucky again, _ she thought to herself.  _ Maybe I had it wrong the whole time. Maybe somewhere out there, some divine being is watching over me, and is rooting for me. Maybe we’re not really alone, left to our own devices. _

“We should pick a room to set up in,” Catra said, forcing her out of her thoughts. “Both of us in the same room would be safer, I think.”

“So you wanna take the master bedroom? Share a bed like we’re married?” Adora suggested, half jokingly. Catra laughed and pushed her shoulder lightly.

“In your dreams.” After their silence died down, she spoke again. “But… I think I’d like that.”

They walked hand in hand to the master bedroom, which was a very obvious room. There were large white double doors that led to a beautiful room with nine-foot tall cathedral ceilings. The bedspread was a bit tacky for Adora’s taste.  _ Seashells? Waves? God, I hate white people. _ She moved to barricade the door, just out of precaution, when she noticed Catra sitting on one side of the bed, holding a picture that had been framed and propped up on the nightstand.

“What’s that?” Adora asked quietly.

“I think they were the people that lived here.” She moved closer, looking at the picture over her shoulder.

A man, maybe mid-forties, with dark brown hair and a scruffy beard. A woman, around the same age, with obviously dyed blonde hair and brown roots. Three kids, the oldest maybe being in middle school, all with sandy brown hair. They were at a beach, a beautiful sunset behind them. They looked… happy. It made Adora’s chest feel tight.

“Rest easy,” Adora said, gently pressing two fingers to her lips before touching the picture frame. Catra sighed and set it back down on the nightstand.

“We should get some rest,” she said, her voice much raspier than usual. Adora only silently nodded, moving to the other side of the bed.

They settled into bed, feeling far too cold despite the blankets they were under. Adora couldn’t sleep, her thoughts were plagued by wondering what became of that family. Whether they made it out together or not, if they were still alive out there somewhere, if… if any of them had been bitten and turned on the others. It sent a shudder down her spine.

“Can’t sleep?” Catra asked after a second, though it was more of a whisper. Her voice cut through the silence like a knife despite its lack of volume.

“No,” she answered simply.

Another beat of silence.

“Can I ask you something?” Adora asked. Catra didn’t respond, only turning to face her in the darkness. “Can you tell me what happened after… after what happened that day? You know, the day I met Bow and Glimmer?”

Catra sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything.”


	6. i'd give it to you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very sorry for this chapter taking a bit, it's midterm season and i am sister struggling!  
> also this chapter ended up around 9k words so if you complain, don't <3  
> cheers my lovelies i hope you enjoy

She tried. God, how she tried. She couldn’t save Lonnie, she couldn't save Kyle, or Rogelio. What  _ could _ she do? Nothing. She was selfish. And in that moment of selfishness, she tried to save herself, tried to allow herself to be pulled into this mystery truck by Adora’s strong arms, the arms that comforted her on so many occasions. The grip Adora had on her forearms wasn’t enough, not nearly enough compared to the many hands on her legs, on her feet, her torso, pulling her away. She tried desperately to hold onto Adora, but it was in vain.

The last thing she remembered feeling was Adora’s fingertips slipping past hers.

“Catra!” She heard Adora yell, her voice hoarse. It already felt miles away, blocked out by the sounds of the truck, by the grunts and growls of the hordes descending upon her.

“Adora!” she screamed out as she hit the ground.

The truck didn’t stop. She didn’t have time to care, though. She jammed her softball bat through the mouth of a walker whose teeth were hearing her precariously. She yelped in pain as she felt one scratch her leg, kicking the walker hard in its head to get it away. She somehow managed to wrestle herself free, starting to limp as fast as she could back towards the bakery.

She closed the door behind her, barricading it the way Adora always used to. She took stuttering breaths as she tried to catch her breath. That much exertion while losing blood was bound to make her light-headed. Speaking of losing blood, she had the thought to check the scratch. Dark red, almost black blood was dripping down her leg, staining her pants. That was the least of her worries. It was really starting to burn.

She sat down, back pressed against the counter. She took a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down. With the knife she kept in her backpack, she cut off two strips of fabric from the bottom of her shirt, wrapping one strip around her lower leg to form a tourniquet and using the other to apply pressure to the wound on her leg. She winced as it stung, tears welling in her eyes.

“ _ Fuck _ ,” she muttered as one tear began to stream down her cheek.

After a few minutes, she let up on the pressure, but the feeling left her leg in more pain than before. She let out a yelp, pressing the drenched strip of fabric back to her leg. She untied the strip acting as a tourniquet and retied it around the other strip, holding it in place on top of the scratch. She had to find rubbing alcohol, or something to disinfect it. Living through a literal apocalypse just to die from septic shock would be truly embarrassing.

She flipped through her backpack. She knew that at least one person in the group had rubbing alcohol, but she couldn’t remember who. With the contents of her backpack littering the floor, she could confidently say that it certainly was not her who had it.

“Fucking great,” she muttered to herself, beginning to stuff the items back in her backpack.

She slowly stood back up, her knees buckling beneath her weight. That was not a good sign. She sighed, remembering that… she couldn’t stay there. It just wasn’t safe. And she knew it was selfish, but… 

If Adora came looking for her, she would look here. And she would have to make sure that Adora knew exactly where she was.

She held the can of spray paint in a trembling hand, shaking the can before drawing that crude self portrait she always doodled on papers on the wall, with an arrow pointing to the note. She let out a silent prayer that Adora would find it before she grabbed her duffel bag and started out the door.

The streets were silent. Eerily silent. She supposed she didn’t mind, though. Better silence than a swarm of hordes coming to turn her into dinner. That was probably her greatest fear: being eaten alive. Feeling the flesh be stripped from her bones, the blood be drained from her body, the muscles strain and struggle while being torn apart. She shuddered at the mental image.

It only took her maybe ten minutes to slowly limp to Razz’s. Her knee buckled with every step, threatening to make her fall to the ground. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the store’s broad windows. She looked a wreck: pale, dark circles, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. She sighed and pushed open the door.

A thin layer of dust coated every surface in the building. No one had been there in a very long time. She wasn’t surprised. What would looters want from an ice cream place anyway? Ice cream held no nutritional value, and it would melt before it could be of use to them.

Memories flooded her mind as she made her way down the hallway and opened the door to the back room, where she and Adora had spent far too many nights alone together. It had gotten to the point where Razz actually let them keep blankets back there all the time, just in case they needed it.

On the table were assorted documents that Razz probably should have organized better. It was a miracle that that woman was in business as long as she was with the way she ran things. It also was a miracle she wasn’t on the run for tax fraud, seeing as one of the first documents she saw was a W-2 form from almost thirty years ago. Maybe that was her secret: she had been on the run from the IRS for years and years…

_ This doesn’t fucking matter anymore _ , she thought to herself. She sat down on the floor, her back against the door. Sudden pain shot through her leg as she moved, and she yelped in pain, pressing a hand to the scratch. After a minute of holding it there, she pulled her hand back. It was coated in her dark red blood.

She opened her backpack and pulled out her poetry journal and a pencil. She quickly jotted down a note to Adora. Her final wishes. A goodbye to the woman she had loved with the entirety of her heart, with every ounce of emotion her body could hold.

Adora. Sweet, beautiful, strong, stupid Adora. She was so steady, more solid than a rock. She was everything good in Catra’s life, every ounce of serotonin she felt was because of her. And here she would die alone, without the only comfort she had ever felt in her life.

Still, she wasn’t afraid. Death was an old friend she would welcome with open arms. She certainly had her fair amount of brushes with death in her life, even before the world ended. She wasn’t afraid of what came after; she had already lived through hell. Nothing the devil could throw at her could be worse than her reality. Life, for lack of better wording, had fucked her. She was dealt shitty cards in a game she was never taught the rules to. Her mother hated her, the school system didn’t understand her, she looked different enough for bullies to have a fucking field day with her.

She was so strong, but so fucking tired.

And as she shut her eyes for what she understood to be the last time, she let herself drift away into the darkness. She had nothing to fear.

Not anymore.

xx

_ “Hey, Adora,” she said, already waiting at her friend’s car. _

_ “Hey,” Adora replied with a huge smile. “You ready?” _

_ “You know it.” Adora clicked a button on the keyfob twice, unlocking the car. Catra slid into the passenger’s seat, already getting the aux cord plugged into her phone. _

_ “I’ve been listening to that band you like a lot, uh…. Bring Me something.” _

_ “Bring Me the Horizon?” Catra asked with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a metal fan.” _

_ “Didn’t you call it pop metal?” _

_ “Same difference. But since you asked so nicely, I’ll put something on.” _

_ They didn’t speak much for the rest of the ride to Adora’s house, just listening to the music and Catra singing along loudly. Adora was humming, still unsure of most of the words. _

_ Adora pushed her key into the lock and opened the front door, kicking off her shoes by the door. _

_ “Hey mom!” she called out. “Catra’s here, too!” _

_ “Hey, girls!” Mara, one of her moms, replied from the kitchen. Adora gestured for Catra to follow her and sat at one of the stools by the counter, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. “How was school?” she asked while stirring some creamer into a cup of coffee. _

_ “Ugh, we got yelled out by Mrs. Octavia.” _

_ Mara took a sip from her coffee. “What for?” _

_ Adora glanced towards Catra before speaking much quieter, much more unsure of herself. “We… maybe skipped lunch to get Chick-Fil-A.” _

_ “Adora,” Mara scolded half-heartedly. “You should’ve brought me some!” _

_ “I forgot you weren’t working today,” she said. “You know I totally would’ve!” _

_ “And that’s why you’re my favorite,” she said with a wink. _

_ “Hey!” Catra said, smiling. _

_ “Mm, how’re your classes going, Catra?” she asked after another sip of her coffee. _

_ “Pretty good. English is kind of a bitch, but I’m glad I’m taking poetry. Mrs. Isch is probably my favorite teacher this year. I think I might even like her more than Coach.” _

_ “Really?” Mara asked, raising her eyebrows. “Do you think you like poetry more than dance?” _

_ “At this point, I think so.” She shrugged. “I mean, for all these years, I thought there wasn’t anything I was  _ good _ at, except for dance. Poetry is like… dance for the soul.” _

_ “‘Dance for the soul.’ Did the Dalai Lama say that?” Adora said jokingly. _

_ “Ha ha. Very funny,” Catra said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m serious.” _

_ “Do you like reading it or writing it more?” Mara asked, trying to keep the conversation on her. _

_ That was something Catra was always grateful for. Her mother was… not the nicest to her, to put it simply. If she ever did something her mother disapproved of, or talked about anything besides business or math, she was looked at like she was… well, a fucking idiot. If she were to mention to her mom that she actually  _ liked _ poetry? The ridicule would never end. _

_ “I think I like reading more, but I still love writing,” she said after a second to think. _

_ “Her poems are really good, mom,” Adora chimed in. “She’s read a few to me and honestly I was shocked. I mean, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into when I offered to read them, but they were so good!” _

_ “You should let me read a few sometime, Catra,” Mara said. _

_ “Oh, I don’t-” she started. _

_ “Hey, there’s no pressure,” she said, cutting her off. “If you want to, my offer stands. If not, there are no worries.” _

_ No worries. No pressure. That was what Catra loved about hanging with Adora at her house. Everything was nice, warm. Like cinnamon and brown sugar and pumpkin spice. Like a cup of hot chocolate in the winter. Like water in the desert. She felt like she could breathe again. _

_ She wanted to live in that feeling forever. _

xx

Against her wishes, her eyes blinked themselves open. She was… alive. Well, her heart was beating. Her lungs took in air. She couldn’t say she was alive, but she could say that at the very least.

As her eyes adjusted to the light, something occurred to her.   
She was no longer in Razz’s ice cream shop.

She actually had no clue where the fuck she was.

She was laying on a metal table facing the ceiling, a bright light nearly blinding her. She was strapped to a table, with straps above each of her elbows and knees. She tried to struggle against the bindings to no avail.

“Good morning!” a shrill nasally voice called out.

“Wh-what?” she mumbled, unable to process what was happening. A woman with long lavender pigtails came into her view. “Where am I? What’s going on?”

“You were basically dead, and now you’re not. You’re welcome!” she announced nonchalantly. Catra furrowed her brows.

“Why?” she managed to get out. It was hard to speak with how dry her throat was. God, what she’d give for some water.

“... Are you asking why you’re not basically dead anymore?” the woman asked, an eyebrow raised. “This is interesting. Did you want to be dead? I should write this down for research.” She pulled a notepad out of the large pocket of her overalls. “Some… people… want… to die!” she said as she scribbled something down.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Entrapta. We rescued you!” she answered.

“ _ We? _ ” she questioned.

Almost as if to answer her question, an absolutely fucking massive woman burst through the swinging double doors of the room carrying a steaming bowl resting on a tray.

“Good! You’re awake!” the woman said with a friendly smile. “I’m Scorpia, this is Entrapta. Welcome to Etheria Community College’s unofficial medical facility!” She set the bowl down on a table. “We found you and brought you here and fixed up your leg!”

“My leg?” she asked, raising a brow. She strained to pick her head up, trying to figure out what the hell the woman meant by ‘fixed up her leg.’ As soon as her leg came into eyesight, it was hard to ignore.

Below her left knee, where her incredibly sculpted calf -- thanks to many years of dance -- used to be, was… she wasn’t even entirely sure what she was looking at, honestly. A large black metal rod connected her left knee to her shoe.

“W-What the fuck!” she yelled, eyes blown wide with panic.

“Deep breaths,” the huge woman said, holding her hand between hers. “You’re okay. You’re fine.”

“What happened?” she asked louder than she meant to.

“When we found you, you were half dead,” Entrapta said. “Your leg had been scratched -- I think by a zombie, but I can’t be sure -- and the scratch got infected. That infection spread through your leg, and the only thing I could do was amputate it.”

“You amput- you’re  _ qualified _ for that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“My qualifications are broader than anything you’ll ever know,” she said with a wink. “We strapped you down in case you woke up during the process. Or in case you woke up very angry and decided to attack us.”

Catra just stared at her, thinking for a moment. What the fuck could she even say?  _ Oh, thank you so much for saving my leg! I’m going to rob you and go find my best friend now, assuming she still wants me! _ Like that would go over well. “Okay…” she eventually said, trailing off. “Can you unstrap me?”

“Of course!” Scorpia said with a huge smile, moving her absolutely massive hands to the strap buckles and freeing her. Catra rubbed at the skin where the strap had been, massaging it gently.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“And I know this is moving fast, but we found you all alone, so…” Scorpia trailed off.

“Are… are you inviting me to live with you guys?” she asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

“It’s not like you have anywhere else to go!” Entrapta chimed in. Catra just stared at her. While she did have a point, why would she outright say it like that? Even if she decided to leave and try to find Adora, she had no clue where to even begin looking. Adora could’ve left down, she could already be a thousand miles away. Catra didn’t even know how long she was unconscious for. Adora could… there was a chance Adora wasn’t alive anymore.

“Okay.” She patted her hands on her thighs before twisting her body, letting her legs hang off the edge of the table. “If you’re inviting, I’ll stay.”

“Great!” Scorpia said, hugging her tightly.

“What is happening?” she struggled to choke out through the hug.

“I’m a hugger,” she said with a shy smile after pulling away.

“We should get you set up with somewhere to sleep,” Entrapta offered. “We have spare mattresses in one of the back rooms. They were already here when we got here. Someone must’ve set up here before us and left them. Who am I to question the universe’s blessings?”

xx

Catra’s new room was… somehow both warm and freezing at the same time. It had been the first time sleeping in an actual bed since before the world ended. She had gotten used to a sleeping bag on the ground, a camp pillow to rest her head on. The last time she had slept in a bed had been… at Adora’s house. In Adora’s bed.

With Adora.

_ Fuck _ , she missed Adora so fucking much.

“Hey, God,” she quietly said, closing her eyes. “I know I’m in no position to ask you for any favors. I know I haven’t been the most believing in you -- I mean, can you blame me? If you’re up there, you really… you really fucked me over in life. But… that’s- that’s not the point right now. I’m willing to believe in you, I think… I’d believe in anything as long as they can promise Adora is safe. I promised her moms that… that we’d have each other's backs through everything. I owe it to them to protect her. So… please, if you’re up there, keep her safe.”

Silence.

She wasn’t sure what she expected to get from that, honestly. She had only tried praying a few times in life, and she hadn’t heard anything back then, either. That was just her luck, she supposed. If there really was a god up there, how would he have let any of this happen? What kind of god worth believing in would allow for the suffering of so many people? She sighed, rolling over in her strangely massive but disappointingly empty bed, closing her eyes and drifting to sleep.

xx

_ Her phone buzzed once… twice… three times… _

_ “Hello?” Adora’s sleepy, raspy voice cut through the ringing. _

_ “H-Hey, Adora,” she stuttered as quiet as she could manage. _

_ “What is it?” she asked, suddenly sounding much more awake. Catra heard her shift in bed, probably sitting up. _

_ “Can… can you come get me?” she softly asked, feeling embarrassed about needing to ask. She should be able to stay at home for one night, right? One measly night? But that just wasn’t in the cards for her. _

_ “Of course. I’ll be there in ten.” With a click, the call ended. _

_ Catra sighed and reached under her dresser, grabbing the bottle of vodka she had stolen from her mother. She didn’t even bother to pour it into a glass; she took long gulps straight from the bottle, wincing as it burned her insides. She didn’t care. She needed to feel something, to feel  _ anything.

_ She wasn’t sure how much she had drank when her phone started to ring. “Hm?” she mumbled into the receiver. _

_ “Catra? I’m here,” Adora said. _

_ “Mm, coming,” was all she said before she ended the call and quietly opened her window, sticking her legs out and climbing down. _

_ Adora had parked up the street, just like Catra had told her to in an attempt to avoid suspicion from her mother. Not that her mother was ever awake after nine at night. _

_ She stumbled to Adora’s car, suddenly feeling dizzy. The world in front of her was moving around. She smiled to herself, knowing she had gotten herself good and fucked up. She opened the door and slid into the passenger’s seat. _

_ “Oh my god, what is that smell?” Adora asked with a light laugh, a strange smile on her face. _

_ “I… my dearest Adora, ‘had summat to drinky drink.” She grinned. _

_ “Catra…” she trailed off, the smile quickly replaced by furrowed brows and a frown. “It’s not a good idea to drink alone and you know that.” _

_ “Hmph.” She pulled her knees to her chest and stared out the window, waiting for Adora to start driving back to her house but was caught off guard by the lack of movement. She turned back to meet Adora’s eyes, which were locked on her. “What?” _

_ “I’m just worried about you.” _

_ “You’ve no reason to be,” she said coldly. “I c’n handle mysel.” _

_ Adora stared at her for another second before sighing and starting down the road back to her house. The car was silent; no music blared through the speakers, which was very unlike them. There was a strong tenseness in the car that made Catra, even in her inebriated state, feel incredibly unseasy. _

_ They pulled into the driveway in silence. Without a word, Adora opened her door and closed it behind her, not waiting for Catra before she started towards the front door of the house. Catra watched Adora leave her, sitting completely still in the car for a while before she realized that Adora wasn’t coming back. She took a deep breath before stumbling out of the car and into the silent house. She picked up Adora’s keys that she had hung by the front door and locked the car, and started up the stairs to Adora’s room. _

_ Adora was in bed, facing away from the door. She was breathing deeply, but Catra had spent enough nights with her to know that she wasn’t yet asleep. _

_ And somehow, that made her even more nervous. _

_ She pulled back the covers and slid into her bed, facing her back. She reached a hand out tentatively, hovering mere inches above Adora’s shoulder, but pulled back, clutching her hand to her chest. _

_ Adora spoke suddenly, her voice cutting through the tense silence. “I do have a reason to be nervous, you know.” Her tone was cold, but it was forced. Catra knew she was using all of her self control to try to act mad at her. _

_ “M’sorry,” was all she managed to say. _

_ “I just don’t get it,” she said, rolling over to meet her eyes. “Why drink tonight? We have school in the morning. What if you’re hungover?” _

_ “I… did not think about that,” she said after a second. “Sometimes, m’mom is… a lot. And all I can do is drink the pain away.” _

_ “Catra.” Adora reached out and grabbed one of Catra’s hands, planting a kiss against her knuckles. “I know things are hard, but you have people that care about you, you know. My moms adore you. Lonnie and Kyle and Rogelio care about you. And I… I love you.” _

_ “You… love me?” _

_ “You’re my best friend, of course I love you.” _

_ Oh. Friends. That’s right. _

_ She must’ve shown the sharp pain that that simple sentence created in her chest, because Adora’s hands tightened around hers. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the world. She didn’t want Adora to know, but… she had feelings for her. Feelings she knew she shouldn’t have for a best friend. Romantical feelings. Lovey feelings. A constant feeling of ‘I want nothing more than to wake up next to you every morning.’ And… that just cemented her worst fears: Adora didn’t feel the same way. _

_ “Catra?” she asked cautiously. Catra forced her eyes back open, taking in the confused and concerned expression on her friend’s face. “What is it?” _

_ “S’nothing. Let’s just… sleep.” _

_ “No, Catra,” she insisted. “If it’s making you feel like this, then it isn’t just nothing, okay? You can tell me anything.” _

_ And it was in that moment that Catra realized exactly how close together their faces were. She realized that by moving maybe two inches forward, her lips would… _

_ Well, clearly her lips would move on their own accord. _

_ Without even realizing, she moved forwards, bringing their lips together. Adora gasped in surprise before she, too, melted into the kiss. Catra’s chest felt light, like someone had filled her entire body with helium and she was floating up and away. Every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire. She loved every second of it, every movement Adora’s lips made against hers. No fireworks on the fourth of July could even come close to comparing to the explosion of Catra’s heartbeat in her ears, nearly deafening her. The roar of blood pumping through her ears, the feeling of… the only word she could think of to describe it was ‘yes.’ The feeling of ‘yes’ that coursed through her entire being, overwhelming her, drowning her, yet at the same time, bringing her back to life. It was like a storm in a desert; like being so close to death but being brought back into the light of life. It was… exactly where she was meant to be. _

_ Suddenly, she realized where she was, and what she was doing. She pulled away quickly, eyes boring into Adora’s, scanning them for any sign of emotion, for any sign of anything at all. _

_ “Adora,” she said, her voice shaking, “I’m sorry-” _

_ “No, Catra, uh… it’s okay. You’re just drunk. This doesn’t matter.” She offered a small smile. “We… can forget this happened, if you want.” _

_ Those words just… they fucking broke her, frankly. They broke her fucking heart. She thought she was about to cry. She would rather die in the most painful of ways than forget how it felt to kiss Adora. But… if that was what she wanted… _

_ “Okay,” she softly said. “We can forget.” _

_ She turned away and closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep. _

She woke up with a start, sitting up quickly in bed. Her eyes went wide with panic for a moment, taking in the room around her, before she remembered that this was real, and she was not, in fact, still in Adora’s bedroom.

Despite knowing it was just a dream, she could still feel the ghost of Adora’s lips against hers, even though they had kissed only once many months ago. Despite knowing what she said to Adora, she would never forget. She couldn’t ever forget.

_ Fuck, _ she thought to herself.

Her eyes met her leg. She stared at it in silence, trying to make any sense of it in her head, before giving up and slipping out of bed, throwing her shirt on and making her way down the hallway. She vaguely remembered where Scorpia had told her they eat, and seeing as she felt like she hadn’t eaten in ages, she was ready to wolf down whatever they put in front of her, even if it was just straight fucking flour.

She pushed through the swinging doors, leading into what she could only assume used to be some kind of culinary classroom. There were counters lining the walls, with six or seven ovens placed evenly throughout.

“Good morning!” Scorpia said from one of the tables in the center of the room. “Breakfast?” she offered.

“Sure, what do you got?” she asked, rubbing one of her eyes.

“We have granola and dried mango.” Her eyes went wide and her stomach growled loudly at the mention of mango. It had been so long since she’d had anything that sounded that good. Scorpia chuckled, standing up and opening one of the cabinets. She pulled out a plastic container and popped the lid off as an offering. “Eat. You deserve it.”

Catra hardly even noticed that she had finished the entire container. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Scorpia held up a hand, cutting her off.

“You were out for a while. We’re not surprised that you’re starving.”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely. After a second, she furrowed her brows. “Wait, how long was I out?”

“Two weeks.”

“ _ Two weeks? _ ” she almost shouted. Her heart dropped with the realization of how much time had passed without her realizing. How many things had changed?

“Hey,” Scorpia said, clearly sensing her panic. “Hey.” Her tone was soft, gentle, and surprising considering that she was basically a fucking wall of a woman. “I know. I get it. It’s a lot of time, especially in this day and age. But everything is okay. You’re okay.”

“I was with someone, and she meant a lot to me, I- is there any way that you’d know if she’s still alive?” she asked cautiously, not knowing whether or not she’d feel better with one answer or the other. On the one hand, if Adora was still alive out there somewhere, she had hope. There was a chance she’d be able to see her again. On the other hand, if she wasn’t… at least she wouldn’t be suffering anymore. She’d finally be at peace, with her moms. It was selfish for Catra to want her to still be alive, wasn’t it? She didn’t care. She wanted Adora so  _ fucking _ badly.

“Maybe,” Scorpia said, but it was more like a question. “Can you describe her?”

“Really buff, blonde hair, kind of an idiot?”

Scorpia stared at her for a minute before speaking very slowly. “We saw someone on the cameras the night after we found you. We saved her from some zombies but we haven’t seen her since.”

“Saw someone… where? How?”

“It’s probably better if I let Entrapta explain it,” she said with a shrug and a shy smile. “I’m not that great with the details. Come on.” She stood, gesturing for Catra to follow her out into the hallway.

Entrapta’s lab was only a few doors down, but the doors were massive, intimidating. They were maybe twelve feet tall, standing out from the rest. They walked in to find her staring at four large monitors with different parts of the streets in view.

“Entrapta?” Scorpia said, alerting her of their presence. She turned, a wicked grin plastered on her face.

“Good morning!” she said, her voice as nasally and shrill as the day before.

“So Catra was wondering about the cameras?”

Entrapta clapped her hands together, her grin only growing wider.

“I set up a bunch of security cameras with motion sensors around town to try to watch the movement of zombies. It also helps us find survivors, such as yourself. So you see on the screen here?” She pointed to one of the monitors, and in one corner of the screen was the familiar street she and Adora had walked countless times. Catra nodded. “That’s where we found you. You set off our motion sensor.”

“That’s how we saw you go into the shop,” Scorpia chimed in.

“When we see a horde of zombies,” she continued, “we try to go take some out. Lessen the load for anyone else.”

“So you set them up for what?” Catra asked. “Just to fulfill some sick fantasy of finding and setting ho- zombies on fire?”

“I wouldn’t say a sick fantasy, I would just say that we’re trying to do our part in helping the world return to normal.” She shrugged. “I can’t start experimenting to find a cure yet, and I’m not convinced anyone else out there is. So the only option that remains is taking all of them out.”

Catra stared at her for a second, blinking in silence. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” she eventually said.

“Catra said she was looking for someone,” Scorpia said. “What’d you say she looked like?”

“Uh, buff, blonde hair, stupid little hair poof thing.”

“Oh, yeah! We saw her the night after we got you!” Entrapta said. Catra felt her heart race, hope coursing through her veins for the first time in so long. “We saved her from zombies and sent her on her merry way!”

“Have you seen her since?”

“No, not really,” she admitted. “Just the once.”

“Can we-” Catra started, but Scorpia quickly cut her off.

“No, we can’t go look for her,” she said. “I know how hard it is to lose someone you care about, and I know that you miss her. We’ve all lost people. Whether they’re dead or otherwise, I know that every person still alive on this planet would do anything to be back together with whoever they’ve lost, whether it be one person or a hundred. But we can’t go off on crazy risks on a hunch that  _ maybe _ they’ll be out there. Okay?”

Catra was taken aback by the sudden outburst of emotion from Scorpia. She… hadn’t even considered that. She felt so fucking selfish. Of course everyone has lost someone important.

And of course she just needed to move on.

“Okay,” she said softly, gently, like if she spoke any louder, everything around her would shatter.

xx

She never could’ve imagined how boring the apocalypse would be. Of course Entrapta and Scorpia would somehow create this impenetrable fortress that, for whatever reason, hordes-  _ no, call them zombies,  _ she reminded herself - zombies would stay away. She was sat in a window sill, staring out over the evening skyline, her poetry journal open on her lap and a pencil in her hand tapping quickly against the edge of the journal. She had tried starting a new poem, something she hadn’t done since the spring, but she couldn’t get any coherent words down. She wanted to dedicate it to Adora, to Lonnie, to Kyle, to Rogelio. She wanted it to be beautiful, breathtaking, but words escaped her, as they always seemed to.

Soft footsteps echoed through the hallway, snatching her attention. Scorpia was walking towards her, and smiled when she met her eyes.

“Hey,” Scorpia said softly. “You busy?”

“Not really. What’s up?”

“I’ve been shaving my head since the world ended to try to keep it short and out of the way, and I was wondering if you could come help me out real quick?” she asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s no pressure, but Entrapta’s kinda busy, and-”

“Okay,” she said nonchalantly, jumping out of the window sill and landing less gracefully than she would’ve liked. She mentally cursed the fact that she still wasn’t completely used to her prosthetic leg, even though it had been a week since she woke up. She wobbled a bit before regaining her composure. “Let’s go.”

“Great!” Scorpia said with a smile. She grabbed Catra’s hand, leading her down the hallway towards one of the bathrooms. “I’ve been doing it over the sink since that makes it really easy to clean up.”

“Smart.” She picked up the clippers, already set with a quarter inch guard, and flicked the switch. “I’m not gonna, like, cut you with this, am I?” she asked cautiously. “I’ve never actually done this before.”

“Honestly, with the guard on, not a chance. Just go for it.” She gave an encouraging smile in the mirror, motivating her to get started. Feeling more confident, she began to shave Scorpia’s head.

She didn’t think Scorpia’s hair was very long to begin with, which was why she was genuinely surprised by the amount of hair that fell onto the bathroom counter. By the end, she had done a much better job than she thought she would, and… it wasn’t actually a bad look.

“Hey, Scorpia?” she asked slowly. Scorpia raised an eyebrow at her in lieu of response. “Could you, maybe… uh, shave my head too?”

“For real?” she nearly shouted, clearly excited. Catra nodded silently, giving a small smile. “Of course! Since it’s your first time -- at least, that’s what I’m assuming -- I’m gonna grab a bigger guard.” She popped open her backpack and swapped out the guards. “This is a three quarter inch. If you hate it, it’ll grow out fast.”

The nerves of what she was doing finally set in, and she took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

By the end, she actually was really happy with how it turned out. Her head actually felt lighter somehow. She guessed all that hair really  _ was _ weighing her down, like Mara used to always joke about. She couldn’t stop looking at herself in the mirror, trying to capture every angle.

“I guess you like it?” Scorpia asked, smiling.

“I love it. Thank you.”

xx

Learning to ride a motorcycle was a lot harder than Catra thought it would be. She figured it couldn’t be that different from a bike, but god was she wrong.

The first time she tried to get on, her leg somehow got caught and started to cramp up, and she fell  _ oh so gracefully _ right onto her ass. After the first few days of trying and failing, she eventually started to get a feel for it.

She soon started to get very comfortable on it, and Entrapta and Scorpia took her out to manage the zombies, something that they had begun calling the Nightly Patrol. It wasn’t nightly, and it was usually during the day, but it had a nice ring to it.

Days began to blur together as summer ended, a harsh fall creeping through the town. Catra had snagged a leather jacket from a nearby store. She had to admit to herself, she looked downright sexy, and she didn’t normally say that kind of thing about herself. She walked with a new swagger to her, like she felt alive, like she was the queen of what remained of the world, and she was absolutely living for this newfound confidence.

It was a particularly cold day, and Catra was perched on the roof of the building, poetry journal in her grasp. She had written a few poems, but good ones were few and far between. She exhaled slowly, watching the cloud of mist pass her lips. She had given up on trying to write, opting instead to sketch a familiar doodle on the corner of the paper. She hadn’t drawn it since the first message she left to Adora in the bakery, and waves of nostalgia flowed through her.

“Catra!” a voice shouted as the roof access door suddenly burst open. She spun to see Scorpia, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. “You’ve gotta come hear this!”

She followed her back inside and down the stairs, to Entrapta’s lab. She was fiddling with a radio, two voices cutting through.

_ “You -- safe haven with the food and running wat-- no walkers?”  _ a man’s voice said through the radio, cutting in and out.

_ “Good! You --”  _ a woman’s voice replied.  _ “Plumeria -- normally be a sev-- hour drive, give or take. -- a car?” _

_ “No,”  _ the first man said with a sigh.  _ “How long -- walk?” _

_ “Gosh, to walk? -- two weeks.” _

Catra grabbed Scorpia by the elbow, pulling her close enough to whisper. “What’s going on?”

“There’s this safe haven, apparently down in North Carolina. The other group in town got in contact with them, and we’re kinda hijacking that transmission,” she replied.

“Huh. Neat,” she said, trying to maintain an aura of nonchalance while internally she had never screamed so loud in her life. She still was trying to figure out if it was a good internal scream or a bad one. On the one hand, Adora could be with that other group. They could make it to whatever safe haven it was together, and…  _ God, I don’t have that kind of luck, _ she thought to herself. On the other hand, if Adora wasn’t with that group, if she was by herself for whatever reason, that would be it. Not a chance they could ever see each other again.

“Alright!” Entrapta shouted, making her jump. “We got the address for Plumeria. That other group is going too. We should try to find them and walk together!”

“What makes you so sure they’re gonna  _ want _ to walk with us?” Catra asked, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe they’re hostile.”

“If they were hostile, they would’ve attacked us.”

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. “What if they didn’t know we were here?”

“Impossible, we saved that blonde girl you’re always talking about.”

Catra nearly choked on air. “What do you mean I’m always talking about her? I’ve mentioned her like maybe twice ever. And that’s not even the point. I know Adora. If she thought you were a threat, she would’ve done something about you. She doesn’t think we’re a threat. Maybe she’s intimidated by us, I’ll give you that, but I don’t think she thinks we’re a threat. I think.”

Scorpia stared at her, eyes wide, brows furrowed, her lips silently repeating the last thing Catra said. “I think I lost you,” she said after a second.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said dismissively. “We don’t have to worry about Adora.”

“Are you sure?” she asked cautiously. “Because, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t long ago that you really wanted to go out and find her-”

“Things change, Scorpia!” She caught even herself off guard with the abrupt explosion of anger, but before she could think any more about it, she ducked out of the room, sprinting back to her room and collapsing into her bed.

Her mind was racing, going in fifty directions all at once but they never overlapped, leaving her chasing desperately after anything coherent. A few of her thoughts tried to force her into happiness, into remembering the good times with Adora, the love, the friendship. And she knew deep down from the ache in her chest that she wanted nothing more than to fall back into Adora’s arms, to fall asleep with their limbs tangled together like they used to when everything was simpler. What she would give to just wake up next to her again…

Her thoughts drifted, though, down a much darker path. The memories of heartbreak, rejection, the kiss that she was told to simply forget about.

The way Adora just  _ left her _ to die.

The lighter side of her brain reminded her that technically Adora didn’t leave her, it was the truck driver who refused to stop. But that light side suddenly faded back into the darkness.

And suddenly she was falling. She tried to gasp out for air, for that final breath before plunging deep into frozen waters. Her face felt drenched, though logically she knew it was just the tears that had begun to streak down her face. She slammed her eyes shut, cutting herself off from the world, until her breathing finally slowed.

And she drifted to sleep.

xx

_ She was hiding in Adora’s closet, Lonnie almost pressed against her. Kyle and Rogelio were under the bed, obviously stifling laughter. She was beginning to become cramped. She wasn’t claustrophobic, but good lord, if Adora had so many clothes crammed in her closet, why did she always wear the exact same thing to school every day? _

_ Her phone suddenly brightened, a text from Mara appearing on her screen. Her eyes widened and a huge grin formed on her face. _

_ “She just pulled into the driveway,” she whispered, loud enough for Kyle and Rogelio to hear. The room suddenly got silent, almost eerily silent, and she would’ve felt on edge if it wasn’t for the thought of how  _ happy _ Adora would be when they surprised her. _

_ The front door opened downstairs. Adora called out to her mom that she was home, and Catra heard the familiar footsteps as they started up the stairs. As soon as she opened the door to her bedroom, the four of them jumped out at her. _

_ “Happy birthday, Adora!” they yelled almost in unison. _

_ Adora jumped back, fear overtaking her face for only a moment, before she broke out into the biggest, dopiest, dorkiest, most  _ adorable _ smile Catra had ever seen. And if she was being honest, she could’ve passed away then, with Adora’s smile as her last memory, and been so content. _

_ “You guys!” she said, laughing as she clutched a hand to her chest. “You gave me a heart attack!” _

_ “We got you good!” Lonnie cheered. _

_ “Aren’t you gonna ask what your present is?” Kyle said. Adora gave him a look, and Rogelio reached back under the bed and pulled out a large box, wrapped beautifully with a large red bow on the top. _ _   
_ _ She slowly began to open it, peeling the wrapping paper off as if she was going to reuse it later. Catra laughed at her. “You gonna go any faster there, Princess?” _

_ “I will take my time, thank you very much,” she retorted, continuing at her agonizingly slow pace. _

_ “If you don’t just rip it open, I’m taking the gift back.” _

_ “Okay, okay,” Adora groaned with a roll of her eyes. She finally got the wrapping paper off and gasped in awe at what her friends had gotten her. _

_ At first glance, it was just a plain light wash denim jacket, which she had mentioned in passing that she loved the look of. But as she pulled it out of the box, she took in the clearly handmade details. The back was painted, she assumed by Rogelio, with a beautiful sunset behind a forested mountain range. It wasn’t just any mountain range, the painting was actually a picture that Adora had pinned to her mirror. It was from the summer before when the five of them had taken a backpacking trip through the Maryland part of the Appalachian Trail. _

_ “Oh my god,” she mumbled, tears welling in her eyes and a smile on her face. “I love it. Thank you guys so much.” _

_ They sat in Adora’s room for a while, just talking and playing cards, until Mara brought in a cake with candles already lit. They sang to her, laughing as Catra smashed a piece of cake into Adora’s face, resulting in as close to a food fight as they were willing to get in Adora’s bedroom. _

_ As the day turned to night and the others had gone back home, and Adora and Catra were alone, Catra pulled out another wrapped gift from her backpack. _

_ “I got you something,” she said softly, handing it to her. _

_ Adora raised an eyebrow, unwrapping that box much faster than the last one. She cautiously opened the box, and she let out a shuddering breath when she saw what the box contained. A circular pendant with a tree in the middle, at the end of a golden chain. _

_ “Catra…” she trailed off, sounding breathless. “How- this is  _ beautiful _. How the hell did you afford this?” _

_ “I… sold my guitar,” she said flatly. “I wanted you to have something nice.” _

_ “Catra, you didn’t have to-” _

_ “I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to.” _

_ Adora’s eyes darted back and forth between hers, and tears began to spill down her face as she pulled her into a hug, burying her face in the crook of her shoulder. _

_ “Thank you,” she whispered softly. _

_ And the next day at school, when Adora pulled up wearing both the denim jacket  _ and  _ the necklace? Catra was entirely convinced she had passed away and was in heaven. _

xx

She woke slowly, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Her head was throbbing, aching in a way she hadn’t felt in many months. Her tongue felt so dry. She tossed the covers aside and climbed out of bed, genuinely unsure what time of day it was. She didn’t care. She was absolutely  _ craving _ beans and rice, and if that was going to be her breakfast, then so be it.

She pushed open the doors to the kitchen. It was empty. She sighed, hearing it echo through the empty room. Pouring herself a bowl of rice and beans, she sat cross legged on one of the stools at a table.

The door pushed open after a minute, and Scorpia ducked inside. “Oh, there you are!” she said, sounding breathless, but… more on edge than anything else. It made her nervous.

“Yeah, what’s up?” she asked slowly.

“I, uh… I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

Scorpia swallowed hard, opening her mouth as if she were going to speak before frowning. After a few attempts, she finally managed to get the words out. “I… was doing some thinking. What if we didn’t try to meet up with Adora’s group?”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t we do that?” she said quickly, almost defensively.

“Just… hear me out for a second, okay?” Catra silently nodded her agreement. “I’ve seen the emotional pain that she caused you. The way you lash out, the way you close in on yourself. Don’t think for a second that I didn’t notice you crying yourself to sleep last night.” Catra looked down, suddenly feeling… well, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling exactly. “She- honestly? I don’t think she does anything  _ good _ for you, Wildcat.

“You are so strong, and powerful, and smart, and - and I’m not trying to reduce you to your looks here, but you’re drop dead gorgeous. Anyone would be so incredibly lucky to have you, and then you choose someone who treats you… well, pardon my French, but like shit? You can do so much more, be with someone so much more.”

Catra could’ve argued it was a spur of the moment decision. And if anyone asked, that was probably what she would’ve said. She didn’t think about it; she just let the moment propel her forward. Her hands cupped Scorpia’s face, and she brought their lips together. And just for a moment, it felt… great. It felt better than great, actually. And sure, the kiss lasted only a second; any longer and she might start to catch feelings. But as she pulled away, Scorpia’s brows furrowed, her lips forming a frown. She opened her eyes slowly.

“Why- wh- I don’t- … what  _ was _ that?” she asked after a second.

“Fuck, shit Scorpia, I’m so sorry,” she groaned, rubbing her forehead. “Can we just… forget this happened?”

Her heart stopped as she said it. It was  _ so fucking _ familiar. She racked her brain, desperate to find where she had heard that phrase before. And as she realized, her stopped heart fell through the floor, falling cold and lifeless through space and time.

The last time she had heart that sentence was when Adora had said it to her that fateful night in her room.

“Um, yeah,” Scorpia said after a second, scratching the back of her neck. “Yeah. Just… forget it. Good! Good, uh… Good to forget! I’m glad we can-”

“Scorpia?” she said quietly, cutting her off. “It’s… You don’t have to forget, you know. If you don’t want to. I shouldn't have done that, and I’m sorry. I should’ve asked or something first, but-”

“We should do it again sometime.” She spoke so quickly, so hopefully. Her cheeks were bright red, almost glowing in the dim light of the makeshift cafeteria. Catra had wanted to do it again, just to  _ finally fucking feel  _ something, but…

_ Fuck it, _ she thought to herself, her lips crashing into Scorpia’s once again.   
She was lying if she said it didn’t feel good. Because it did certainly feel good. But… there were no fireworks. There was no adrenaline in her veins, no explosions deep in her chest, no breathlessness. It didn’t feel the same. For a second, she had half a mind to imagine she was kissing Adora. That would be wrong, though, wouldn’t it? She… she had to end it. It wasn’t fair to Scorpia.

She pulled back, turning away. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do this. This is wrong,” she said, barely above a whisper. Without another word, she left the cafeteria, Scorpia’s eyes following her through the swinging double doors, disappointment heavily weighing on her.

xx

A little over a week passed. Things had calmed down, especially the zombies. The town was eerily quiet; they hadn’t needed to go out on their bikes to tear through crowds in a while. Catra half jokingly voiced her concern that they would go soft.  _ Psh. Yeah. In my dreams, _ she thought to herself every time that concept arose.

The October chill finally  _ seriously _ set in. She was very thankful for the leather jacket she had snatched, feeling nice and toasty in the faux leather. She didn’t often leave the comfort of the spot on the roof she had grown to love so much. She didn’t have a reason to, frankly. She could sit up there for hours and just write peacefully in her journal. She shuddered due to the cold, despite her jacket, and despite the sunlight shining against her skin.

All of the lights suddenly shifted from their normal yellow to a bright red, an alarm blaring echoing throughout the building. She slammed her journal, jumping up and sprinting back inside towards Entrapta’s lab. She barely even made it halfway before she was nearly body slammed by Entrapta and Scorpia sprinting towards the garage.

“The other group needs our help!” Entrapta yelled. “So many zombies!” Scorpia grabbed her elbow and pulled her along with them.

They quickly mounted their bikes and rode down the street. The smell of decay was nauseating, something that Catra hadn’t smelled so much of since… well, since the day she lost Adora. They neared the crowd, surrounding three people who were, at least hopefully, still alive. Entrapta began to light up zombies while Catra and Scorpia worked on creating a dent in the crowd, enough for the people to slip through.

“Want a ride?” Scorpia shouted as an offering to the group. “Hop on!” Some sparkly girl climbed onto the back of Catra’s bike, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.

“Hold on, Sparkles,” Catra muttered before taking off back towards the college.

As soon as they were all safely inside the building, Catra’s eyes met-  _ oh, fuck. _

Her heart almost stopped when she saw Adora. Her blonde hair had gotten longer, her typically neat ponytail disheveled due to the fight. Her eyes were still that electrifying steel blue, yet the light behind them seemed… dimmer, somehow. She was the same Adora that Catra had always known, always loved.

“No way,” she mumbled breathlessly without thinking. She reached a hand out, but pulled back as Adora furrowed her brows. Catra had just remembered she was still wearing her helmet. She let out a shaky laugh and removed it, watching recognition claim Adora’s face.

“Catra?”

“Hey, Adora.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow me on twitter i am active there basically all day every day  
> scntuary


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